We all know that some traumas stay with us forever. But do you know that there is actually tangible effect on the development of the brain caused by childhood trauma?
Childhood trauma is result of intentional violence, physical or sexual abuse, but also domestic violence. Childhood trauma can also be a result of natural disaster, war, or some form of an accident.
Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains all the effects of childhood trauma. For starters, individuals exposed to childhood trauma have higher risk of heart disease and lung cancer. But even more important, 20 years difference in life expectancy.
The post-traumatic stress disorder is well known within the health and medicine industry. But screenings for childhood trauma are no show, even though the effects are known. Nadine Burke Harris tries to encourage people and raise the awareness within the health industry for screening for childhood trauma.
The effects unfold across a lifetime, and we are all exposed to them in one way or another. In her TED Talk presentation, Nadine makes a plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma.
