There's a simple quiz that measures your Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's), and according to a study done by CDC-Kaiser, if your score is 4 or higher (out of 10), you are at greater risk for all sorts of things ranging from behavioral issues to mental and physical health problems.
It's not a surprise that the trauma we experience in our lives, especially during the developmental stages of childhood, can have lasting impact. What's so telling about this study is that the impact of complex trauma (multiple traumatic events or abuse over time) is so damaging and incredibly broad in it's scope.
Chronic health problems, addictive behaviors, and even the ability to hold a job can all be seen as part of the cruel aftermath of the challenging cacophony of a traumatic childhood.
So how do you find your ACE Score?
Look at the list below (click the > to see a more detailed description of the question) and add up how many of the 10 items you experienced before you turned 18 years old...
1. Emotional Abuse
Before your 18th birthday, did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…
swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you?
or
act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
2. Physical Abuse
3. Sexual Abuse
4. Emotional Neglect
5. Physical Neglect
6. Divorce or Abandonment
7. Mother Abused
8. Substance Abuse
9. Mental Illness
10. Incarcerated Relative
Higher than a 4? How Tapping Helps...
I don't know about you, but my ACE Score is definitely higher than a 4. The overwhelm of ALL of the issues in my life several years ago, led me to tapping. For me, this was the answer to dealing with the aftermath of the childhood traumas that followed me into adulthood, finally leading me to burnout.
We've all got stuff. The thing is, I don't believe we are meant to continue to carry our trauma with us into our present experiences and relationships. As children, and in the world we grew up in, we simply weren't given the tools to process it at the time, allowing it to naturally dissolve from our systems.
This is where tapping comes in... it is an incredible tool in this department. Tapping works on issues from 30 years ago or 30 minutes ago. It releases the emotional charge of events and calms the nervous system.
Rescoring My ACE's
Even though one of my ACE's is sexual abuse, and any memories I have are still there... the trauma in my body is not. This means that the effects of this experience, which were severe and devastating for a long time... have now been neutralized due to tapping....
And that's just one of my ACE's... The truth is, even though my score is high, if I took the quiz based on the current emotional charge that my body holds for each experience... I don't come close to breaking 4.
The Biggest Win-Win...
This means that in healing my trauma, releasing the hold that these events had within my energy system and my life, I'm simultaneously lowering my risk factors for all of the behavioral, physical, and mental issues a higher ACE score brings with it.
So, take a moment and think about your ACE score... are there things you'd like to process and release? Are there risk factors mentioned that you notice in your own life? If you could erase just one of your ACE's, which one would make the biggest impact if it disappeared from your list?
Think about what it would be like to disable your triggers, dissolve the emotional charges around your most painful experiences, and allow your nervous system to truly know calm.
This is what I want for you... because I've gotta tell you, after all is said and done... it feels incredible to be on this side of so many of my traumas.
If you're ready to process some of your ACE's, I'd be honored to work with you. You can book your session with me here.
Angela Hed Vincent (she/her), owner of True You Tapping, is an EFT Master and Energy Medicine Practitioner for people at their emotional and spiritual breaking point.
She helps her clients honor and release the emotional traumas of their past, using their biggest challenges as catalysts for transformation, so they can more fully embody the truth of who they are, even in they don't truly know the cause of their issue.
Angela introduces something new to the world of healing and transformation. She has developed a unique approach to burnout recovery and intuitive development, and continues to create innovative programs to help people find their balance in various aspects of life.