Sharing – Childhood trauma is linked to different aging patterns in the midlife brain

I recently added a feature for newsletter subscribers: a special “From the Archives” issue every other week. Yesterday, that issue included this statement in the introduction:

“I don’t know if I should be glad that the stuff I’ve written over the years is still relevant, or angry that it is.”

Today, as I read about this study, I once again realized that none of us is angry enough about childhood trauma and the lasting impact it has on all of us:

A new study reveals a connection between early life trauma and adult brain aging. Adults reporting severe childhood stress demonstrated a stronger link between advancing age and declining mental skills, alongside distinct gray matter volume differences.

https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-different-aging-patterns-in-the-midlife-brain/

This is another reminder that there’s no excuse to dismiss the damage done to human beings when they are abused. Kids do not get over it, or barely remember it. They are impacted in myriad ways well into adulthood. Not doing everything we can to limit trauma, let alone arguing for policies that create more trauma for certain groups of children, cannot be tolerated.

We are not angry enough.