adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs —

“A lot of people who have high ACE scores don’t realize that things that they, or others, thought were normal had hurt them,” said Stevens, who has experienced seven different forms of ACEs herself. “They weren’t born bad. But children tend to think magically. If they suffered emotional or physical abuse, they think they must have deserved it or caused it. And later, in the absence of healthy options, the way they cope with the pain, anxiety or shame is often by self-medicating. Nicotine is a great anti-anxiety medication, and the first prescription antidepressants were methamphetamines.”
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