Emotional trauma tends to short circuit the body's bioenergetic systems causing significant, real and quite frequently major physical changes. That's why I wasn't surprised to read a study about people who are abused or neglected as children and grow up to be adults with a significantly greater risk of heart disease.
This first study shows a direct link between a wide range of childhood problems and ischemic heart disease -- blockage of the arteries that leads to heart attacks and other major problems.
Those who suffered emotional or physical abuse or grew up in a dysfunctional household were 30 percent to 70 percent more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiac problem.
Researchers asked about 10 different kinds of child abuse or neglect, ranging from domestic violence to parental drunkenness to physical abuse to fear-inciting behavior to divorce. There was a noticeable relationship between the risk of adult heart disease increasing with the number of adverse experiences endured during childhood. Some of the lowlights:
- Children are three times more likely to struggle with drug addiction as adults and twice as likely to be alcoholics.
- Kids are twice as likely to smoke or to be severely obese.
These results may also explain why only half the variation in risk of heart disease can be explained by conventional risk factors such as diabetes and physical inactivity.
Most of the patients I see have some sort of emotional trauma that contributes to their health problems. That's why I recommend the Emotional Freedom Technique, an psychological acupressure technique to optimize your emotional health. Learn this valuable technique by reading my free EFT manual.
Yahoo News September 20, 2004