Page 17 - NAMAH-Jul-2018

Namah An Emotional Literacy Programme

as ‘I am healed’ or ‘This has no power over psychological problems. Those who are not
me’ and the innumerable reinforcing of this shown love in childhood will grow up with
mantra within. deficient emotional responses. It will be easy
for them to hurt others. A definite way to
Topic 7 — adverse childhood experiences stop crime is to make sure children, including
orphans and street children, are raised in
Here we will study child psychology and loving homes.
developmental stages. We will discuss
Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs. This topic can be uncomfortable for children
It is not a pathological disease, but the root who are going through ACEs. But it is important
cause of many diseases. ACEs are abuses for them to know it. This is because children
children receive — beatings, physical neglect, with ACEs usually have low self-esteem,
sexual assault, psychological abuse — and are poor performers at school and can have
household dysfunctions — parents with psychological issues such as Attention Deficit
psychological problems, parents fighting, Syndrome. They should know the problem
alcoholism, drugs, spouse beating, poverty, does not lie with them, but in their life-
death of a parent, parent in jail, unstable situation. This knowledge itself is liberating
relationships. Children who experience for them and is the first step to healing.
insecure childhoods carry within their bodies
the memory of their disease. Their immune The facilitators should be trained to read signs
system is compromised, their major organs in a child who is undergoing ACEs. A child
function below par, they are more prone to may not know that something is not normal
get lung and heart diseases, and worse, they at home. Or the child may sense it but does
are prone to get addicted to alcohol, drugs not feel safe to share it with another adult. A
and violence. common reason is that abusing families usually
threaten the children with dire consequences
The reason is simple. Our bodies are first if they spill it outside. Such children should
of all survival machines. When children, or be given a safe place to share. The counsellor
adults, feel insecure, their brains pour out or facilitator can then decide to talk to the
stress hormones. The fight, flight or freeze parents and include them in a programme,
reactions kick in. The body does not then or in worse situations make alternate living
care about how well the heart is doing, how arrangements for the child. A community that
good is the breathing, how are the organs is ready for self-help and mutual helping can
functioning. When this same reaction kicks exert a positive influence on parents without
in again and again it creates a behaviour retaliatory action or shaming them. Doing
pattern. The brain gets rewired. Various surgery on the ego is a delicate job, and the
triggers can put the body in fight-flight-freeze counsellor does not get the submissiveness
mode throughout a person’s life. Statistics offered to a surgeon.
say that every ACE reduces one’s lifespan
by a few years. Individuals with high ACE Topic 8 — adults dealing with children
count can get cancer at an early age. They
will probably have asthma, heart diseases, The hard part for parents, teachers and coaches

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