Is the Impact of Childhood Adversity Causing the Struggles?

Trauma in the Pews 2.0 Section I: Chapter One (second part).

If you missed the first part of Chapter One, you can find it here.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

If anything wasn’t going well in my life it could easily be attributed to this lack of discipline on my part. Lacking the fruits of the spirit? Troubles at work? Being ill? Experiencing anxiety? Having financial woes? Children being disobedient? Marriage problems? The list could go on and on. The answer could always be attributed to not being consistent with the spiritual practices—especially Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance. It was sinful not to be consistent in the practices and sin was most certainly the cause of the inconsistency. It was a vicious cycle without an answer.

The Impact of Childhood Adversity

Does any of this sound familiar? Maybe like me, you have been caught in this cycle for years. Even when I began healing and understanding the impact of my childhood trauma, it did not help me escape from the cycle of spiritual failure. Not until I learned about a research study conducted in the 1990s. The information convinced me that the church had been connecting the wrong dots. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES) connected the dots between childhood adversity and lifelong behavioral and physical issues.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES) Excerpted from Trauma in the Pews

In the 1990s, Kaiser Permanente and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducted a study on adverse childhood experiences. The ACE Study, as it is called, formed the foundation for our understanding of trauma experienced during childhood. The study asked participants, all employees of Kaiser Permanente, to answer ten questions to indicate if they had experienced any adverse events during their childhoods. The questions focused on three major categories: abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction.

The researchers compared the results from the questionnaires to the employee’s medical records and discovered a correlation: the higher the number of ACEs a person experienced, the more likely the person was to have a variety of medical conditions and mental health concerns. The study also confirmed that “Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress.” ACEs are linked to chronic health problems like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, in addition to mental illness and substance misuse in adulthood.”

The most promising aspect of the study is the acknowledgement of trauma as a significant underlying cause of many physical and psychological conditions. With this knowledge, healthcare professionals can recognize the symptoms caused by ACEs and provide more effective treatments that will reduce their long-term effects on a person’s physical and mental health.

What stunned me about the research findings was that most of the behavioral concerns (including addictions, promiscuity, and risky health behaviors) that were traditionally identified as sin were far more common in the lives of those who had experienced childhood trauma. There are reasons for this, but for now, understand that it is neither a spiritual nor a moral problem! It is the result of how of childhood trauma impacts individuals for a lifetime.

Are the Problems Not Spiritual?

The findings of the ACE research study helped me connect the dots that eventually transformed my spiritual life. The truths in the following excerpt from Trauma in the Pews bear repeating (See Appendix 2 for information on PTSD and C-PTSD).

All the ways that I tried to solve my inner turmoil never solved the problem of the deep inner turmoil and darkness that I could not explain. The answer I settled on was to control myself better, be more disciplined, and try harder to use spiritual practices. So, I did just that, year in and year out, in spite of the fact that nothing improved. Not once—and I am amazed to admit this—did I question the basic assumption that the only things that mattered were spiritual in nature and that being the case, believed all my problems had a spiritual solution.

Unbeknownst to me, I could have found descriptions of these symptoms in information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The information I needed could never be found in biblical studies or doctrinal teachings. All the ways I struggled had been mislabeled and misunderstood. The struggles I endured were misjudged by me, my family, my employers, and church leaders. And sadly, that blocked me from fully experiencing the joy that is possible in a faith experience by those who have not been affected by trauma.

The separation of the spiritual from the secular has trapped many in their suffering. This may be true for you. To solve this, the church has often glorified suffering—as if the abundant life that Jesus promised was intended to be miserable. To escape the suffering, you have been instructed to diligently utilize the spiritual practices, only think of your blessings, leave the past behind, and believe that everything happens for a purpose. No, there is no purpose in the physical or emotional abuse or neglect of children. It is spiritual abuse if you have been told that your childhood abuse was somehow part of God’s plan. All of these incorrect ideas stand in the way of healing trauma and accessing the joy that is your birthright.

Final Thoughts

The correct question is, “What happened to you?” This question transformed my life and faith. My struggles were never spiritual, but they did impact my faith. Not resolving trauma, always impacts both life and faith. The impact is sometimes obvious, but not always. The purpose of healing is to process and resolve trauma. When this happens, those experiences can remain in the past where they belong and allow you to live your life more fully.

What is involved in healing from the impact of trauma and how does it happen? As always, I suggest obtaining professional help but with the knowledge and practices suggested in Section II, you can support your healing process as you begin to embrace Healing as a Spiritual Practice. When I look back at my healing journey, my complete lack of understanding about how to process trauma and calm my over-active nervous system are probably the most frustrating. Verses did not help. Prayer did not help. They could have been helpful if I had been able to access them in trauma-informed and sensitive ways. There is a better way!