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Trauma: Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a pediatrician, public health advocate, and the former Surgeon General of California. Her groundbreaking work centers on the powerful and often devastating effects of childhood trauma on lifelong health. Her central thesis is elegantly simple but deeply transformative:

“Childhood trauma literally gets under the skin, changing the architecture of the brain and the function of the body.”

Her most famous contribution is her work around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and how early trauma becomes the root cause of many physical and mental illnesses.

Here’s her philosophy distilled with clarity, purpose—and the tenderness it deserves:

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on Trauma: The Science of Adversity

1. What Are ACEs? (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

ACEs are traumatic events before the age of 18, including:

  • Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse

  • Neglect

  • Witnessing domestic violence

  • Parental substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, or divorce

“The more ACEs a child has, the higher the risk for negative health outcomes.”

2. How Trauma Affects the Body (The Biology of Stress)

  • Toxic stress activates the body's fight-or-flight system constantly, not just occasionally.

  • This disrupts:

    • Brain development (especially in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus)

    • Hormonal regulation (cortisol overload)

    • Immune system function

    • DNA expression via epigenetic changes

"Exposure to high doses of adversity during childhood affects brain structure, hormone levels, and even the way DNA is read and transcribed."

3. ACEs Predict Adult Health Outcomes

Her clinic's findings, and broader CDC-Kaiser studies, showed:

  • A child with 4 or more ACEs is:

    • 2.5x more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    • 4x more likely to experience depression

    • 7x more likely to become alcoholic

    • 12x more likely to attempt suicide

    • 3x more likely to develop heart disease

4. ACEs Are Not Destiny—They’re a Wake-Up Call

Dr. Burke Harris is clear: trauma is not a life sentence—but it must be treated early.

She recommends:

  • Universal ACE screening in pediatric care

  • Early intervention through therapy, mentorship, parental support

  • Trauma-informed systems in schools, hospitals, and communities

  • Integrating mental and physical health care—they’re inseparable

5. Her Prescription for Healing Trauma

Healing Tool Why It Matters
Stable, nurturing relationships Resets the child’s stress response system
Sleep, nutrition, exercise Regulates brain chemistry and immune health
Mental health therapy Builds cognitive control, emotional processing
Mindfulness & meditation Reduces cortisol, improves attention and mood
Safe environments Eliminates re-triggering and promotes healing

Her Core Belief:

“The single greatest public health threat facing our nation today is childhood trauma.”

She calls it the missing piece in our understanding of health disparities, chronic illness, and cycles of intergenerational suffering.

Her Book:

“The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity”
A compassionate, research-driven journey into how trauma reshapes the body—and how science, love, and policy can heal it.

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