Baby birds in nest, Author Tony Alter, Newport News, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
-Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
Though the Childhood Experience Study (ACES) identifies overall exposure to stress, it cannot assess resilience, the capacity of individuals to respond to stress [1A].
Resilience Factors
“A decent self-image comes from somebody paying attention to you as a person and respecting everything you do.”
-Berry Brazleton, world-renowned pediatrician and child development expert [1B]
“At the top of the list is always the presence of some kind of supportive relationship.”
-Jack Shonkoff, Director, Harvard Center on the Developing Child [1C]
Our capacity to respond to adversity varies widely [2]. Some of that capacity is genetic. Some of it involves choice – the determination to overcome obstacles. Some of it involves energy, effort, and tenacity.
Always at the heart of resilience, however, lies a caring relationship [1D]. Children abused by a parent may have a loving grandparent for a short while or a sibling who shares their suffering. That may be enough to keep them going. Continue reading
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 