Many people innately seem to understand that early childhood trauma can negatively impact them later in life. Childhood neglect, lacking a loving or nurturing environment, physical abuse; all of these things have been shown to create a higher likelihood of emotional or social disorder later in life. A recent book, Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease, by authors Robin Kayy-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley, sheds light on just what those connections are, and how catastrophic they can be to those children as they grow up. The truth, it seems, is that even from a very young age, our brains are being tuned to deal with stress. Too much too early can stack the deck against us.

The science of stress rests in what Kayy-Morse the HPA Axis; the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the adrenal gland. The hypothalamus receives sensory stimuli and, in the event of something that is perceived as dangerous or stressful, send a message to the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland to start excreting adrenalin and cortisol, the hormones associated with the “fight or flight” mechanism in our bodies. This is a standard reaction to stress. However, Kayy-Morse defines trauma as any chronic triggering of this effect, which keeps the hypothalamus “revved up and stays in the red zone”. The younger we are, however, the less able we are to “fight” or “flee”, which creates a devastating “freeze state” in which all of these trauma is internalized.

Scare Sick looks primarily at that “freeze state”, and the havoc that it wreaks on young endocrine and neurological systems. Babies that undergo trauma at very early ages, which their brains are still structurally and chemically in development, can experience dramatical changes in the way that they are able to cope with and manage their emotional states in the future. These kinds of setbacks can lead to higher levels of obesity, mental disorder, addiction, and other health complications. They’re even more prone to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and epigenetic defects like Parkinson’s. Even birth complications, high levels of cortisol in mothers under extreme stress, and hunger can trigger some of these long-lasting effects.

Scared Sick is nothing if not a cry for serious and sustained support from government agencies and organizations for new and expecting parents. Imagine a series of interventions available to parents (something other than the currently over-wrought Health and human Services Department) that may be able to stave off serious trauma for young kids, allowing them to grow up healthier and mentally stronger in later childhood and adulthood. Even better, why not institute a longer maternity and even paternity leave for parents that could be paid. Many European countries already do this and have much lower instances of everything from mental anxiety to obesity and crime. It would be a major improvement to public health and may see a payoff in myriad ways, from education performance to healthcare costs and employee productivity.