Adverse Childhood Experiences May Underlie Neurologic Conditions A Call to Action for Awareness About Trauma-informed Neurology [journals.lww.com]

We completely agree, Mike! Thanks for posting!

I would LOVE for the Viewpoint article to resonate with neurologists. My experience, as a physician (internal medicine) trying to raise awareness among other physicians, has been a disappointing and frustrating one, as people aren't getting it (or choosing to get it). Feeling the need to have objective evidence in order to make a diagnosis is too deeply ingrained in our training, and as of yet, there's no accessible, reliable, evidenced-based test to show a person is having nervous system dysregulation (from ACEs). Dr. Elbers alludes to this in the article, but I really like how she makes the point that docs need to make toxic stress (ACEs Associated Health Conditions) a diagnosis of inclusion - that it needs to be on the forefronts of our minds when trying to come up with a diagnosis. Also, a point that I make to docs is that even when we make a diagnosis such as rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, migraines, etc, etc,, toxic stress physiology caused by ACEs is usually the underlying cause of that condition, We then need to realize that working with a patient to reduce stress in their lives (healthy self-regulation) is a critical part of the treatment plan. One issue brought up in the article that I somewhat disagree with, is the commonly  made point that it is felt necessary to have a mental health specialist aligned with a clinic that will be addressing ACEs. The absence of such a specialist is rationalized as a barrier to doctors bringing up ACEs. While I'm all for having mental health specialists embedded everywhere, every doctor, no matter the specialty, needs to be well-educated on PACEs science, trauma-informed, and comfortable discussing with patients strategies to help stress management. ACEs don't just lead to emotional health problems, so a mental health specialist isn't always the best person to address health problems.