Childhood Trauma Linked to Depression

I saw a patient the other day, who is battling depression. She and I were talking about some of her early experiences as a child and there came that moment when I could see that no matter how resilient or  strong a person is, it's extraordinarily difficult to recover 100% from being treated badly.  

According to an excellent article by Kate Kelland from Reuters, "A study published earlier this month found that childhood hardship, including suffering abuse or losing a parent or having a parent with  addiction problems, also raised the risk of a range of chronic physical illnesses in later life, such as diabetes, heart disease or asthma.

One thing that helps many of my patients is to listen to what they've experienced and reassure them that it wasn't their fault and that it's perfectly normal and natural to feel depressed and have more challenges day to day. Many patients have said, "I thought I was crazy and that I should just be able to shake off these feelings, or exercise, or do something to tough it out. It helps to know that I'm not alone."

It also helps to see a licensed mental health professional and work on changing the tapes that replay. Cognitive behavioral therapy can  be effective in these circumstances. In any case, if you having difficulty, do talk to your health care provider, so that they can provide the best advice.

Comments

[Birgit]

Thanks Nurse Barb, good article. This would make sense - as children grow, obviously they would tend to execute patterns that copy what they've been exposed to. Even if an abusive parent isn't mentally disordered per se, it sets the tone for coping issues. According to one study, (ref: http://www.brookhavenhospital.com/childhood-abuse-increases-the-cost-of-healthcare-later-in-life/) childhood abuse increases the cost of healthcare later in life. This isn't just a reference to behavioral health treatment or mental health services, but physical health care as well. Although this study only represented women, I believe it makes the point: The impact of childhood abuse follows well into the adult years.