Opinion | Mental health of parents and its hidden cost on children’s futures

Abuse in childhood does not end with childhood. Toxic stress enters the body early, rewires the brain and quietly turns pain into lifelong illness through adverse childhood experiences

You will frequently hear that time heals all wounds. Child trauma is one of those places where that simply is not true. Child trauma whether it be physical, emotional or stress will not simply fade away as one gets older. It will settle deep in one’s body and mind. It will affect one’s health, behavior and outcomes as we understand it through scientific data.

Toxic stress is not just stress. Ordinary stress is temporary stress. It is alright to deal with. It is taken in small doses. It is a test at school and it is replaced by the next challenge right away. There is the problem at home and it is resolved soon after. Then there is toxic stress. It is persistent. It is extreme. It is what happens to the child who lives in fear or in uncertainty without the help of the caring adult in his or her life. Physical abuse or mental or physical neglect or exposure to domestic violence or mental illness or drug addiction in the parent’s case.

In the early childhood stages there is a high rate of growth for the brain. Almost ninety five percent of the entire growth of the brain occurs before the age of five. When a child is raised within a safe and nurturing atmosphere the connections within the brain develop in a positive manner. However if a child is raised within a toxic stress environment the brain Readjusts for survival.

Stress hormones such as cortisol are still elevated. The body remains in a state of fight or flight. The brain structure alters. The areas of learning regulating emotions and decision making are affected. The fear and alertness circuits become hyperactive. The child can exhibit problems at school, aggression, social withdrawal or anxiety.

The trauma does not end there and studies of Adverse Childhood Experiences reveal a clear correlation between trauma in youth and disease later in life. Adults exposed to high levels of trauma in childhood face nearly three times the risk of heart disease and lung cancer as well as significantly higher rates of diabetes, depression, substance abuse and autoimmune disease.

Not surprisingly this association comes as quite a shock to most individuals. Just consider. How might childhood affect someone in their sixties or seventies leading to cancer or heart disease? Clearly there is more at play here than just environmental or genetic factors.

Yet all these long term consequences of childhood can occur because of the body’s stress response.

According to this explanation, chronic stress compromises the immune system, leading to increased levels of inflammation as well

But you see this reality every day even though you do not realize it is there. A middle aged man with unchecked diabetes struggling with anger issues and an addiction problem. A woman suffering from heart disease struggling with lifelong anxiety issues. A young person suffering from depression struggling with an addiction problem. Many of these relate to the trauma these people experienced during childhood.

In societies like ours this problem tends to remain under the radar. Abuses are silenced. Mental health is stigmatized. Kids are told to adapt. Parents are burdened by poverty, conflict or societal norms. The education system is preoccupied with grades. This generates a whole generation with invisible injuries.

Medical models frequently focus on symptoms not sources. High blood pressure receives a prescription. Depression receives a prescription. Addiction receives shame. How often are we investigating the life of that individual as a child? How often are we screening for trauma in a medical setting? It costs lives.

The answer is deeply rooted in pediatric medicine. Pediatric specialists learn how to recognize these signs of toxic stress in children. Illnesses. Developmental problems. Bad behavior. Poor growth. These are more than just medical concerns. Each is a warning sign of a greater issue.

Intervention is effective. With stable relationships, therapy and supportive environments the brain repairs itself. Stress reactions return to normal. Learning enhances. Emotional control develops. Prevention is more effective than intervention in later years.

Role of Parents: Parents can and should be at the center of this equation. You do not have to be perfect. You have to be present. Being a calm presence in a child’s life can cushion a child against stressful events. Small acts count talking to a child every day keeping routines consistent in a life that may not be consistent at all taking care of mental health problems of one’s own and not resorting to violence of any kind.

Schools have a role to take on as well. Trauma sensitive education is no longer a choice but a mandate. Teachers need to realize that challenging behavior could be a sign of trauma not necessarily disobedience. Safe classrooms. Respectful discipline. Even emotional learning initiatives. These practices raise academic performance and mental health concurrently.

Policymakers must move with speed. Spending on early childhood care and parental support and mental health care is not charity work. This is public health spending. Each rupee that goes into spending on health care saves many rupees down the road on health care costs. More significantly it saves the potential of a person.

Religious leaders, community leaders and media representatives have a role too. They influence attitude. They can end the silence surrounding abuse. They can encourage people to feel compassion not blame. They can remind society that everyone has a responsibility to safeguard children.

Whatever happened in childhood it will never change. But how that childhood influences the future can be changed. And the starting point often is awareness. It is only when trauma is acknowledged and faced and not denied that the healing will begin. Therapy support and coping skills can rebuild that which stress destroyed.

This problem of abuse to illness is not inevitable. It is preventable. It is reversible to a considerable extent. Science has made it thoroughly clear. This problem of childhood trauma is both a medical problem and an educational problem.

As someone concerned about health and wellness you have to be concerned about kids. As a person who wants a healthier society you have to look out for the healthiest of our society. Toxic stress is what translates to unhealthy adults. Supportive environments translate to well functioning and healthy adults. The decision is ours.

(Writer is An Author, Writer and Columnist hails from Boniyar Baramulla and He Can Be Contacted on mukhtar.qur@gmail.com)