Child Adverse Experices (ACE) and Adult Health

Federal law defines child abuse as the following:

• "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation"; or
  
• "An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm."

Number of reported cases of child abuse is about 3 million annually. Every ten seconds another case of child abuse is reported to child protective services. 

I can't help wonder the actual number of children affected by child abuse and neglect. In my private practice and my work at a community mental health clinic, vast majority of clients experienced some form of abuse and neglect as children, but most of these cases did not get reported.

So, why do my clients come to therapy? Main complaints are: depression, anxiety, problems with drug and alcohol, addiction to food or sex, relational problems, sleep issues, low self confidence, general dissatisfaction in life. 

The relationship between childhood trauma and its effect on adult physical and mental health has been measured and documented in a study with over 17,000 people: ACE Study (Adverse Child Experiences). You can measure your score here. 

I will definitely revisit this subject in future posts.

Newest Eating Disorder: Orthorexia

http://www.choosingraw.com/neda-week-2014-considering-orthorexia/

Do you or do you know someone who adheres to a self-imposed dietary restriction that make going out for a simple meal a major headache? Do they sometimes go to the extreme of not eating because the food doesn't pass the "clean" test? Does a simple trip to the supermarket turn into a time consuming and stressful event during which every label must be carefully studied?

We all know vegetarians, rawfood enthusiasts, glutenphobics, pescartarians, freegans or just picky eaters. When does health consciousness become pathological? When does it become an eating disorder?

Eating disorders is primarily a problem of the West though it might be more accurate to say it's a problem in wealthier countries. In no way do I want to minimize the seriousness of eating disorders, a serious medical and mental health issue. But the fact that one in nine people in the world do not consume enough food to sustain a healthy life makes this disease especially poignant. Having an abundance of choices sometimes can be problematic.

Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia) can cause amenorrhea, damage to the teeth, and in extreme cases it can even cause death. 

So what exactly is orthorexia? Ortho (straight, rectangular, upright, as in orthodontics and orthopedics) + orexia (desire, appetite). Anorexia = loss of appetite or lack of desire for food. Orthorexia: rigid appetite.

Orthorexia has not been recognized by the DSM, so it is not an official diagnosis, yet. Professionals in the field define orthorexia pathological desire to eat healthily, so much that it interferes with a "normal" life and jeopardizes physical health.

Experts say orthorexia becomes life-threatening when people's food restrictions make it impossible for them to take in enough calories and nutrients to maintain good health. Bell recently treated a 14-year-old girl who ate only raw fruits and vegetables. She dropped to 80 pounds and had to be hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.

Orthorexia is one example of a healthy enthusiasm that becomes an addictive behavior creating harm and decreasing one's quality of life.

Addiction to Money

Usually in these pages I don't talk about addiction to money. My experience with addiction has been mostly with abuse of substances one ingests. 

There is another subset in the field around process or behavioral addictions. We are talking about compulsive behaviors such as sex addiction, gambling addiction and addiction to making money. 

Years ago I simply called it greed, but after reading this thought-provoking piece in the Times I see how it is an addiction.

The author connects the out-of-control need to earn an absurd amount of money on Wall Street to his an earlier history of alcohol and drugs abuse. With the help of his counselor, he came to see that it wasn't so much about the money (millions of it) but what it represented — the desire for power — subconscious need to feed an emotional hunger that originated from his childhood and maybe even inherited from his father. 

I've been meaning to read and write about Gabor Mate, an addictions doctor, who believes that at the root of all addiction is hunger — emotional or spiritual hunger (so did Jung, by the way). 

So what is it  we hunger for? And how do we go about filling the void? 
Which maladaptive behaviors are compulsively and guiltily engaging it?
Which substances are we ingesting to self-medicate? 

What's more distressing is that our market system is being driven by a bunch of sociopathic money addicts whose compulsive need for power causes people to suffer, not just in this country, but also around the world.

http://nyti.ms/1cGibh1