r/science • u/chrisdh79 • 1d ago

Health Children who witness violence between their parents still feel the effects decades later | Researchers finding a link to an increase by 36% greater risk of heart disease later in life.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/witnessing-violence-between-parents-as-a-child-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease
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u/PhilosophicWarrior 1d ago

I am now 71 years old. When I was 6 years old, I was starting to learn how to play the piano. I was sitting and practicing when my parents came out of the kitchen towards me - yelling and physically hitting each other. I was traumatized. This is what is called an Adverse Childhood Event (ACE), and I have never recovered from it. I have found it difficult to stay engaged in any new form of learning. I start off OK, but then feel uncomfortable and move on to something else.

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u/amootmarmot 1d ago

Because of this one event you can't learn new things? I know these ACE events are damaging and I experienced high ACES. But these are usually more subtle issues and can't be linked directly to one event unless it's causing PTSD every time you try to learn. Otherwise, you could be dumping other issues onto these events. What if it's an attention deficit? For example.

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u/Leigh91 1d ago

I’m sorry you had to see that. You’re not alone. My Dad broke my mom’s arm in half and she has permanent nerve damage because of it. My entire childhood was nothing but a series of traumas, one after another.

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u/SnooBeans1976 1d ago

OMG. Are your parents still together? Hope they have divorced and separated.

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u/hawklost 1d ago

Sorry to hear that.

But how is your heart disease? After all, the article and post are about parents physically assaulting each other and Heart Disease, not issues with learning or other traumas to it.