Minding the Children – 2. Path to Restoration

For many of us, especially adults, a favorite pastime is to looking through old photo albums.  While older adults enjoy “leafing through” prints in old photo albums, younger adults and adolescents "flip through” their digital albums on their hand-held devices. 

Regardless of our method, our photo collections bring many memories—some good, some not so good!  In fact, some children and adults try to blank out bad memories of experiences that have left deep emotional or even physical scars on their lives.  Experts in child health and education consider the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and the resulting emotional dysfunction as a major health crisis in America and worldwide. 

In Part 1 of  "Minding Our Children" (Click HERE), we discussed the necessities that each child should receive in order to grow and mature physically, mentally, and emotionally.  As the child’s body, mind, will, and emotions mature in a healthy way, they work together to shape the heart of the child as a person preparing to navigate life’s challenges.  The child’s physical, emotional, and spiritual health continue to mature under good parenting in a stable home life, and by formal education that complements what the child learns at home.  While young children cannot decide their heredity or environment, both of these are important determinants of health and character.  Many children inherit unfavorable genetic traits which may be compounded by adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) which, in turn, impact physical and emotional health, ability to think, make good choices, and learn.  Although God’s Spirit can override our flesh and its limitations, humanly speaking ACE’s can rob anyone of the mental and emotional health necessary to surrender and walk within the power of the Spirit of God. 

Having pointed out the serious and widespread problem of adverse childhood experiences and the associated theory and selected terminology in Part 1, we now turn from theory to practical application and solutions to the problem.  Here we offer personal experience and insights through an interview with a man who has personal and professional experience with the effects of ACE’s on the quality and longevity of life.

Interview with Robb Fogg
My friend and brother in Christ, Robb Fogg, is a veteran biology teacher in southwest Ohio.  Our interview format below is a composite of numerous conversations with Robb about how he and his wife, MaryEllen have addressed his personal challenges that have resulted from many adverse childhood experiences.  We will also discuss how God has been using his experience with HPA-D to launch a multifaceted program to address this widespread problem among children and adults.

[JOHN ●]  Robb, thank you for co-authoring with me on Part 1, and taking time for this interview.  We want to hear from you as a teacher whose love and compassion for his students and their families has moved you and your wife MaryEllen toward a full-scale effort to provide a way out of the mental, emotional, and spiritual confusion and anxiety so common among students and families.
[ROBB ●]  Thank you for the opportunity to share what God has been showing me through my own life experience and through my teaching and research. 

[●]  First, give us a brief sketch of personal experience God has provided for you which has led up to the Community Health Initiative that you, MaryEllen, and colleagues now lead? 
[●]  When I entered the learning community at Cedarville University and you, Doc, became my academic advisor, I came from a very challenging childhood.  Looking back with what I have learned since then, I was the owner of the incredibly high ACE Score of 13!  In retrospect, I now believe I am a perfect example of the truth that “with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19: 26).”  By God’s grace and love extended through the campus community and my church, I graduated with a degree in biological science education.   

For the past 28 years, I’ve been teaching biology.  Most of those years I tried to engage my students from a social-practical perspective--Biology is life!  Living it, exploring it, enjoying the wonder right under our noses.  But, right under my nose, and within my skin, was a load of biological dysfunction and hypervigilance that was dominating me and keeping me from realizing how much it was affecting me and my family.  Like many polarized-thinking people, I could see my problem but I couldn’t solve it by myself.

[●]  How did you begin to make sense of your dysfunction?
[●]  Six years ago, MaryEllen and I were talking about a difficult experience I had as a child.  She said to me, "If you could go back in time what would you tell yourself?" I began to do the research and for the next 6 years, MaryEllen helped me process the research at a personal level.  When I began to understand the extensive problems that my dysfunction can cause, I realized how much it had affected me and my family across our lifetimes.  I also found evidence that HPA-Dysfunction is passed on genetically to seceding generations.  This is termed epigenetic inheritance.  Epigenetic inheritance occurs through environmental influence upon cytoplasmic components that regulate how our inherited genes (DNA) are expressed during development of our offspring.  Once I saw that I could reset my own HPA-Axis initially through drinking enough water (hydration) and Navy Seal breathing techniques, things just started falling into place and I began trying to present my findings to my students, family, and friends.

[●]  Were there any other influences on your thinking?

[●]  Yes, besides the loving encouragement of MaryEllen, I was also influenced by a TED Talk by pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, in 2014 (How Childhood Trauma Affects Health across a Lifetime).  I would highly recommend that your readers take time to watch this excellent 15-minute talk.  It could revolutionize to your thinking as it did mine.

[●]  As a biology teacher you began to understand how ACE’s were hindering your students’ learning and flourishing.  How prevalent are these negative effects among students?
[●]  According to my research, inner city students had ACE Scores of 8 or above.  One researcher reported that an ACE score of 6 correlates with PTSD.  Events like the COVID pandemic, inflation, hurricanes, and urban unrest are known to increase students’ ACE Scores.   Occurrence of HPA-Dysfunction increases as you go from upper (5%) to middle (15-20%) to lower socioeconomic class (50-80%).

[●]  In simple terms, can you explain how chronic stress leads to HPA-Dysfunction and the resultant behavioral outcomes you have observed? 
[●]  Thank you.  Our neurohormonal system is incredibly complex and when a person’s stress becomes repeated and excessive, the system becomes dysregulated.  In his book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk M.D clearly explains our brain’s response to chronic stress; namely, the left side of the brain largely goes offline or becomes dysregulated.  It loses the ability to solve problems.  At the same time, the right side can identify the problems but has no solutions except to stir the emotions and feed messages to the adrenal gland which churns out adrenaline.  For obvious reasons, this condition is called “making your own coffee.”  The responses to the excess adrenaline are anger, anxiety, and energy expenditure.  Another byproduct of HPA-D is cortisol which interferes with sleep, creates insulin resistance, and can cause body wide inflammation that often leads to leaky gut.  I believe we have listed numerous other physiological and behavioral consequences of HPA-dysregulation.

[●]  Your thesis is that HPA Dysfunction is tied to poor physical health and lifestyle.  What particular nutritional and lifestyle factors are you targeting?
[●]  Each person who enrolls in our “Acorns to Oaks” program to address HPA-D and hypervigilance must first register by completing our “Intake Form.”  Then, when they complete our “Daily Health Survey,” they will be introduced to five biological baselines and given a score for each baseline based on the health status data they provided in the Survey.  Each enrollee is then given access to our unique interactive tracker according to their current scores for each of the baselines.  The five baselines are as follows: Hydration, Nutrition, Sleep, Breath, and Play.   As enrollees make progress in improving their baselines, they will be able to see their scores with color coding on their own personal “Life Fuel Dashboard” accessed through their acornoasis.com phone app.  

Because God created us for relationships, with Him and with our fellow human beings, we have designed our habit tracker so that individuals can progress through the program in the context of families, teams, and communities.   For example, each parent can have his or her own dashboard and can see his son or daughter’s dashboard.  This unique perspective allows a parent to support the underlying biological stress rather than react negatively to the son or daughter’s dysfunctional behavior.

[●]  Do you think children’s medical centers are making progress in research and clinical treatment of HPA-dysfunction in children?

[●]  Reports of mental health crisis in our children are dominating the news.  Addressing mental health is in the top three health concerns in all medical centers nationally.  Professionals across the health industry are reporting a desperate need for something to stem the tide of poor mental health outcomes and suicides.  A nurse who works in a children’s hospital told me that their staff is so overwhelmed with this problem among children that they are trying to treat the secondary effects of stress instead of addressing the cause.  The HPA-D has the children totally filled with anxiety and they don't know why.  This nurse stated that our approach will help dysfunctional individuals regain their sensory bearings.

[●]  As men of faith, you and I would agree that God’s Spirit and Word can overcome mental and emotional hindrances to a person’s repentance and acceptance of God’s gift of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.  But do you ever think that you are inviting hurting people to bypass repentance and spiritual courses of action?

[●]  Doc this is a great question! I would take it back one step and consider that the total dysregulations caused by HPA-D hinder people from getting a good look at the loving offer God makes through his Son.  The dysregulations of HPA-D dampen the senses and interfere with a person's ability to make sense of abstract ideas.  As Christians, we understand that saving faith in Christ comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10: 17).  But, consider how abstract the following statement of the Christian Gospel might sound to someone unfamiliar with ideas of Christianity:  An all-powerful being entered our timeline, took on the biology of His own creation, arranged to be the ransom payment, was killed and came back to life in order that all mankind might have life, for all time, for anyone who would call on his name.  Abstract, right? 

What’s more, Jesus challenges His would-be followers to do more than “know the Scriptures” or “know about Him.”  He wants us to know Him deeply and personally!  To do this requires more than just to “know the Scriptures” or to “know about Him.”  Jesus said, If you continue in (remain in, think deeply about) My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8: 31-32).”  Isaiah 26: 3 promises that God will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Him. 

But HPA-D prevents the “quiet mind,” one necessary to contemplate abstract spiritual things.  It is like the static of radio entering your thoughts.  The higher your ACE Score, the louder the static interference.  Depression is showing up as people are having a harder time quieting their thoughts.  Hypervigilant people constantly process threats making abstract constructs challenging.  The Apostle Paul wrote that Satan, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4: 4).  In contrast, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14: 33).”  God arranges the details in our life path so that we might reach out to Him.  He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us (Acts 17: 27).” 

As a small boy under so much stress I reached out for God as if reaching for a light switch in a dark room.  I found Him and he found me.  Now, God is giving MaryEllen and I the motivation and enough understanding of biology and faith to be ambassadors to those He is calling into His Kingdom.

[●]  So, I’m thinking that when a person is burdened with shame and other negative emotions, they may be less likely to seek spiritual help.  Am I right?
[●]  You are right!  Let's assume that you are experiencing dysregulations to some degree, and that you are trying to stop drinking or trying to live a pure life.   You go to the spiritual leaders for help and you bear your soul to receive spiritual counseling.  But you gain no insight on how to turn off the biochemical effects of the HPA-D.  You may decide, along with many others, that you will stop bringing your missteps into public view.  The idea of accountability and self-discipline within a spiritual context doesn't seem to work.  People walk away from the faith community because of the incongruence of the situation.  If someone chides you in the process, can you understand the added discouragement you would experience.  People leave the church.

Since using our method, I have found that my mind is more at peace because it doesn’t race as much.  I can turn off my racing thoughts and enjoy what is happening in the present.  I don’t worry about the past or the future because God provides what we need each day.  When I turn on the left side of my brain, I am able to process Life in the Spirit the way God intends.  In other words, by following our disciplined program to improve the five baselines, we can restore peace of mind, order to our thinking, and Joy in our hearts.  Philippians 4: 4-7 instructs the Christ-follower to Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice…Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is among other things Joy!  But HPA-D chemically dampens the feeling of Joy.  In place of Joy, hormonal dysregulation causes anger, anxiety, selfishness (hypervigilance), self-doubt, loneliness, road rage and even the feeling of shame.  Learning to reset my HPA-D allows me to have a greater biochemical and spiritual capacity for Love, Joy, and Peace.

[●]  What advice would you give to pastors and lay leaders?
[●]  Having been a pastor, I know the overwhelming feeling of trying to help people overwhelmed with family malfunctions.  Families, especially if a parent or parents suffered as children, are in a very difficult situation.  Spiritual Leaders in our community need to empower our families to establish strong mental health habits by establishing our biological baseline.  

When a family enrolls in our “Acorns to Oaks” program and takes our “Daily Health Survey” they can identify the baseline issues and take positive steps themselves.  The parent can view a summary of their children’s biological baselines so the parent can help the child work toward a more homeostatic life-style. You can see that our approach gives a community a tool to quickly identify the underpinnings of extensive malfunctions and provide practical solutions.  [CLICK on the graphic to enlarge.]

As I noted above, the church must adopt a more Christ-like compassion toward those who have given up on themselves and the church, and are suffering in emotional paralysis, addiction, and shame.  You and I have discussed the compassionate way in which Almighty God extended comfort to the Prophet Elijah when he was on empty physically, emotionally, and spiritually. God addressed each of these needs beginning with Elijah’s need for bread and water (1 Kings 19).

[●]  Yes, and the same God came in the flesh as Christ, the Messiah. He gave us a model of comfort when he began a conversation with a hypervigilant, rejected, Samaritan woman who had had five husbands and was at the time in a live-in situation (John 4).  Jesus didn't come to her with a prescription from the Holy Scriptures even though they do have the answers.  Instead, He asked her for something that she had come to the well to get-- something which He knew she needed in both the physical and spiritual sense--water! By starting the conversation around His own basic physical need as a man, God in human flesh, Jesus was able to lead Her to "living water." When she believed and drank of this "living water" spiritually, her life began to be spiritually transformed.  This hypervigilant, rejected, Samaritan woman then cried out, "Come see the Man who told me all about myself!"

[●]  Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman with compassion and empathy.  Beyond these, He COM+FORTED her, meaning "to COME with ‘FORT-ification’ of faith for a path forward.”  You and I have referenced a passage from 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 which means so much to both of us.  Here, God invites the anxious and distressed to receive His abundant comfort through our Comforter (John 16:7).  Notice the highlighted phrases:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction
so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Our Community Health Initiative depends upon our knowledge and technology, but we will fail if we don't reach out to distressed people with the comfort of Christ.

[●]  Amen! And I believe the story you and MaryEllen are writing is clearly Spirit-led.  You thank God for calling you out of spiritual and emotional dysfunction, and yet we can see that God also used the compassion and comfort of MaryEllen.  I can see how this same spirit is being multiplied through your Community Health Initiative--an integration of faith and science, powered by God’s Spirit who guides with the Light from God’s Word and wise application of the biological and behavioral sciences.
[●]   Thank you.  That sums it up very well.

[●]  In spite of your offering of a positive, proactive, faith-science based program of community health, why is there still institutional and social reluctance and resistance to your program?
[●]  “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today” according to Dr. Robert Block, American Association of Pediatrics (2017).  The implications clearly extend beyond health to education, public safety, and our economy.  So why is it unaddressed?  I believe there are at least five resistances to progress:
1) Social resistance--Facing the notion of childhood stress is not very popular; yet this is the cause of HPA-D.
2) Hypervigilance often makes a person extremely defensive against efforts to help them.
3) Allostatic load drains energy and hampers the problem-solving part of the brain.
4) The church has “spiritual answers” but needs to follow Christ’s example of ministry to the “whole person.”
5) The medical health establishment is too focused on high tech and pharmaceutical approaches to simply prescribe personal discipline of attaining quantifiable baselines: water, good nutrition, breathing, sleep, and play.

[●]  Would you elaborate on the apparent resistance from the medical community? 
[●]  Sure. Nadine Burke uses the contaminated well example: “You can write prescriptions for 100 cases of diarrhea or you can go find out what's in the well.’’ Instead of treating the symptoms, our approach addresses the base biological malfunctions.  Thus, by turning off the negative effects of HPA-D it reduces the hormonal dysfunctions and the subsequent physiological miscues.  For example, simply helping a person reach quantifiable hydration baseline relieves headache, brain fog, and constipation.  Or consider our breathing baseline--on three separate occasions we lowered blood pressure from 220/180 to 140/80 within two minutes in response to Navy Seal Breathing Techniques.focused on high tech and pharmaceutical approaches to simply prescribe personal discipline of attaining basic baselines: water, good nutrition, breathing, sleep, and play.

[●]  Thank you, Robb; and please thank MaryEllen for sharing you with me for this interview.  I understand that your goal is to put an upgraded system into every school in a 5-state area.  Students could come and take the “Daily Health Survey” and begin to work with their biological baselines using the “Life Fuel Dashboard” to help them identify some of the root causes of their out-of-control feelings.
[●]  That is our goal.  We estimate the price tag on this data machine is $100,000.  We are currently seeking funds and expertise to help us put this community resource into play.  

But, as we said earlier, our leading edge must be in the power and wisdom of God, delivered with His comforting Spirit. I want to comfort others in their affliction with the comfort with which I was comforted.  Our invitation is open!  Visit us at “Acorns to Oaks” (Click HERE.)

NOW, READERS' TURN:
We have discussed the alarming prevalence and consequences of adverse childhood experiences among adolescents, young adults, and parents.  Robb Fogg has launched a multi-faceted program to address HPA Dysfunction and to bring freedom and restoration to those locked in a cycle of cognitive, emotional, and spiritual turmoil.

If you or someone you know appears to be struggling under the effects of dysfunction and wants to find help, we urge you to avail yourself of Robb’s Beta Test using the following links: 

Click HERE to Enroll in the Beta Testing
Click HERE for “Negative Effects of HPA Dysfunction,” by Robb Fogg
Click HERE for a video explaining Hormonal Malfunctions

Finally, we hope you sense that we have a personal interest in helping those who are struggling.  We urge you to share your experiences, questions, and ideas using the “Comment” link below.  Your insights and experiences that will further add to the value of this discussion.  You may also e-mail us at silviusj@gmail.com . To contact or offer financial support or expertise to Robb Fogg, please contact him at robb@10000atoms.com

Minding the Children – 1. The Real Problem

Our mind, will, body, and emotions function together to determine who we are in our hearts as individuals and how we navigate life’s challenges.  In turn, our bodily health is determined by the choices we make as stewards of our physical bodies.  But we are also influenced by the heredity and environment provided by our parents and family.  Adverse experiences can impact our physical and emotional health and can affect our ability to think, make good choices, and learn.  Although God’s Spirit can override our flesh and its limitations, humanly speaking, adverse experiences can rob anyone of the mental and emotional health necessary to surrender and walk within the power of the Spirit of God. 

But how well are we managing the health and well-being of our mind, will, body, and emotions?  In this blog, we will define and address the seriousness of what are called adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s).  We will discuss how ACE’s can cause chronic stress which creates a physiological and emotional “load” on our body that, in turn, can diminish the quality and longevity of our lives.

In Part 2, “Minding the Children – Path to Restoration” (Click HERE.), we will move from theory to application and problem-solving by providing an interview with our friend, Mr. Robb Fogg, a man who has personal and professional experience with the causes of adverse childhood experiences and their effects on quality and longevity of life.  It is our blessing as brothers in Christ to co-author this three-part series of articles.

Part 3 is "Minding the Children - What Can I Do?" (Click HERE.) It aims to answer that question for those of us who know of at least one person who might benefit from the free online, "Acorns to Oaks" program.  We provide a brief overview of the subject followed by a handy directory of important links beginning with a "jump-in" website for those who want to make a difference in the lives of those they love. 

Responsibility to Our Children
Lately, two topics have been dominating objective news reporting. They are not unrelated.  One is growing influence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the other is the growing concern that we are losing a most precious and sacred resource-- our children.  While advancements in AI suggest that we are succeeding in the development of increasingly intelligent computer systems, national statistics suggest that we are failing in our responsibility for the cognitive, spiritual, and social development of our children.

Elon Musk sees firsthand the apparently limitless potential of “intelligent computers,” but he also warns us of the economic, political, and ethical challenges posed by AI.  While Musk calls for a pause in AI research and development, we have already experienced a damaging pause in the educational development of our children as a result of the COVID pandemic lockdowns. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (“The Nation’s Report Card”) “estimates that some two decades of progress have been wiped out.  Average math scores for fourth and eighth graders in 2022 fell by five and eight points, respectively, compared with 2019 levels, while average reading scores fell by three points.”

Computer-aided teaching has played an important role in classroom education for decades.  However, the COVID pandemic lockdowns made it clear that computers are no substitute for student learning in community with their peers under a competent teacher.  To be sure, every generation of children has faced educational and emotional challenges, but the pandemic and the increasing moral breakdown in family and society have clearly exacerbated the emotional and behavioral challenges of growing up.

The Family International offers the following statement regarding our responsibilities to our children:  Every child is precious in God’s eyes and deserves quality and responsible care, and to be loved, nurtured, protected, and enabled to develop their full potential.  Pause for a moment, CLICK on the graphic below to review the many necessities of each child in order to grow and mature:

 

Effective Childhood Education
Traditionally, childhood growth and development are nurtured through the influences of family, church, school, and community.  Last year, Oikonomia provided an autobiographical sketch of child’s education starting within his mother’s womb (Click HERE).  After birth and thanks to the nurturing of a loving father, mother, and grandparents, the child began to learn the social skills of sharing, cooperating, and being patient with others.  When he misbehaved, he learned through firm discipline how to respect authority.  Gradually, his world expanded into school and church where he learned that God is Creator and King over His created order. 

As a youth, he learned more about God’s order in creation and to understand his identity and role in creation.  He began to develop a moral conscience to govern his responsibility toward God and toward others.  All the while, he learned that knowledge is gained by studying different “subjects,” or disciplines, under a variety of teachers.  He began to understand that these disciplines contribute to an integrated whole of what can be known about the visible world and the spiritual world.  Meanwhile, his teachers were assuming a greater influence in his learning, values, and worldview formation.

Effective teachers use a variety of approaches including instruction, training, drill, projects, and laboratory inquiry.  In the process, a dedicated teacher professes—i.e. he or she conveys how passionate they are about teaching and learning; and, how much they love and value their students, other people, ideas, and the world.  A teacher who professes in this way wants to influence or profoundly affect his or her students directly and indirectly in important ways above and beyond the level of rote learning and regurgitation of facts. 

…Engages Mind, Body, and Spirit
Education from a biblical or Judeo-Christian worldview aims to foster learning that produces change in mind, body, and spirit.  Both historically and biblically, learning requires both a competent teacher and a teachable student, one who is mentally able, willing, and motivated to learn.  When a teachable student, a disciple, is blessed to sit under a committed teacher-professor, both teaching and learning become a joy with rich rewards for a whole life.

The autobiographical sketch above emphasized education beginning within the womb and continuing through loving parents and grandparents who then, if possible, choose a competent school and church in which the child can gain a more formal education.  Similarly, although two millennia ago, Apostle Paul encouraged his young disciple Timothy by reminding him of those who had helped to educate and mentor him into a growing faith in Christ.  Paul’s reminder to Timothy is a perfect picture of how personal faith and learning is passed down from grandparents through parents to offspring.  Paul wrote, I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you (2 Timothy 1: 5).

After reminding Timothy of family his heritage, Paul challenges him as a young pastor-teacher to take responsibility to teach others:  You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful people who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2: 1-2).

We learn from the life of Timothy how education ought to be rooted in the love and nurture of family, particularly through parents and grandparents.  Indeed, God’s design is that our growth in body, mind, and spirit be nurtured and developed through consistent teaching within the home and family.  In the culture of Paul and Timothy, dedicated teaching of God’s Word within the home was to be complemented by the teaching in the synagogue for those who were able to attend.  This pattern was handed down for centuries in Western Civilization where education in the home and community have been foundational to producing well rounded individuals.

Adverse Childhood Experiences
Statistics have shown that cognitive, emotional, and spiritual development in children is enhanced when they are members of a stable two-parent family and receive formal education that complements the ongoing influence of their parents.  Sadly, we have witnessed the breakdown of both the family and our public educational system. 

Pause again for a moment and revisit what we have termed “Necessities for Each Child to Mature in Mind, Body, and Spirit” (above).  Then, try to imagine from a child or adolescent’s perspective how the traumatic events in our culture, at home, and at school could deprive him or her of these necessities.  Notice from the graphic the large percentage of parents who noticed more pronounced emotional and behavioral responses in their teen’s during the COVID pandemic.

In an attempt to define the degree to which children demonstrate symptoms of adverse experiences on their behavior and learning, beginning in 1995, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the so-called “ACE Study” over a period of two years.  This study which included over 17,000 participants led to the development of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire,  (Click HERE for the ACE Questionnaire, and HERE for an explanation.)  For example, a child who has an ACE Score of 4 or more out of 10 on the questionnaire indicates he or she has experienced a significant history of trauma.  An ACE Score of 6 is associated with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

HPA-Dysfunction
Our bodies are equipped with a variety of physiological mechanisms to help us respond to sudden real or perceived threats to our physical or emotional well-being.  The so-called “fight or flight response” is a physiological reaction involving secretion of adrenalin and a cascade of other hormones that prepare the body for “fight or flight” response to danger.  The resulting heightened alert prepares us to respond in a survival mode until the threat is past.  However, if the threat is prolonged or repeated in close succession, or the heightened response fails to shut off, the resultant chronic stress can negatively affect our mental and emotional health.

Physiologically, when we encounter adverse situations, our nervous and hormonal (or neuroendocrine) systems function together to adjust the balance of hormones in response to the stress.  This neuroendocrine control operates through a complex system of direct effects and feedbacks known as the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis.  But when we experience repeated and/or prolonged and stressful situations, our HPA axis becomes dysregulated.  Our body is said to experience HPA-Disfunction (HPA-D).  Chronic stress impacts our mental, emotional, and physiological health through its impact on HPA-D.  These include cellular dysregulation that leads to disrupted energy metabolism, cellular aging, and the often-related outcomes of cellular Inflammation, poor immunity, autoimmune disorders (arthritis, allergies, asthma, etc.), and cancer.  Consequences of HPA-D also include PTSD and behavioral problems, poor nutrition, eating disorders, and addictions, all of which affect brain health, and learning and social skills.

Peer reviewed journals collectively report over 400 malfunctions caused by an error in the body’s stress response system.  The “Fight or Flight gets “stuck on” and runs perpetually, causing hormonal confusion throughout bodily systems.  This confusion causes the body to live in a constant state of stress and anxiety.  This hypervigilance further adds to the stress load and can make it difficult for the person to care for themselves and others.

Hypervigilant behavior is illustrated by the boy who suffers from the trauma of being threatened day after day by a wolf lurking in a forest.  He develops the need to clear-cut the whole forest to make sure he can see the threat of danger.  But his focus on the landscape to see the wolf hinders other thought processes and communication to the point that they may hear words but their meaning does not register in their minds.  The hypervigilance causes miscommunication, missed expectations, and miscues in reading facial gestures.  Frequently the hypervigilant person will accept responsibility for his or her failure.  Because hypervigilance is so deceiving, the resultant mental paralysis hinders relationships and vocation; and, it is a major reason why many cannot even see their own dysregulation! 

Learning to live with so many hormonal miscues is physically debilitating and emotionally exhausting.  Psychologists use the term allostatic load to gauge the physiological consequences, or “wear and tear” on the body, as a result of chronic stress, dysfunction, and hypervigilance.  The ACE Questionnaire attempts to quantify the number of adverse childhood experiences that contribute to allostatic load. 

Adverse childhood experiences leave mental and emotional scars that influence many people for life.  According to Focus on the Family, mental health challenges may include depression, self-harm, aggression, impulsivity, and emotional distress.  Consequences of “prolonged toxic stress” in children may affect brain development which, in turn, can negatively affect their ability to pay attention, problem-solve, make decisions, engage in learning, and manage stress. As a result of the developmental concerns, opportunities for educational and career achievement may not be actualized. Subsequently, this can create economic challenges that further diminish quality of life and may even shorten the lifespan as much as 20 years.  Insert “307ACE Pyramid.”

From Theory to Practice
So far, we have presented a theoretical description of how a stable home and family complemented with a supportive church and formal education can provide what each child needs to mature. When these supporting structures are weak or absent, the likelihood increases that a child will experience an elevated allostatic load.  The resultant HPA-Dysfunction can be detected by higher ACE Scores.  But, what can be done to address this concern?

Maybe you or someone you know shows symptoms of struggling under the effects of chronic stress and HPA-Dysfunction.  We urge you to continue reading in Part 2 in which we move from theory to application and problem-solving.  There, you will be treated to an interview and short videos featuring Mr. Robb Fogg, a man who has personal and professional experience with the causes of hormonal dysregulation and its effects on the quality and longevity of life.  Robb and his wife, MaryEllen are completing a free, online program, "Acorns to Oaks" which provides enrollees with practical steps toward restoration. 

Time for Your Response
Thank you for your interest in Adverse Childhood Experiences and their effects on our lives.  None of us live in a perfect physical and emotional state.  And, we recognize the complex, personal, and sensitive nature of the subject. However, your comments can add much to the value of this blog so we urge you to use the "Comment" link below.  Or, you may e-mail us at silviusj@gmail.com or robb@10000atoms.com .