I had the great privilege of working recently with a changemaker who supports children through their healing from trauma. It was during our work together that I learned about the ACE Score. ACE stands for adverse childhood experiences and is a series of questions that when one answers “yes,” they score a “1.” The higher one scores, the more likely as an adult she is to experience chronic disease, as well as social and emotional problems. Most people score at least a one on the ACE with 87% scoring more than a one.

A handful of ACES

I was curious what my ACE Score was so I took the quiz, calculating my total. Eight. Like eight out of ten. As I stared at the number, I felt nauseated. Could these traumas have been the root cause of my autoimmune disorder? My inexplicable weight gain? Migraines?

Then I reflected on how, with a health coach’s support, I reversed most of my health issues. I went from being on five pharmaceuticals to zero. I kept my autoimmune disorder under control and had no more migraines. I’ve even reversed knee pain and plantar fasciitis.  No mediation. No surgery.

Concurrently, I dug into my shame. Examined my behaviors and tuned into my heart. I spent years healing the wounds I unconsciously picked at and decided to find the gifts in each experience. That, my friends, made all the difference.

I looked in my rearview mirror and realized more deeply how incredibly blessed I have been. Statistically, I ought not to be doing well. Yet, here I am, thriving. I wondered if knowing earlier what my ACE Score was might have impacted what I believed about myself and what was possible for me.  Perhaps.

Deal me in

At the end of the day, it doesn’t much matter what my rating on a scale is. What does is celebrating my tenacity to dig into the dirt, unearth painful memories long buried, and allow my light and love heal my heart.

“Now I can cry until I laugh and laugh until I cry/So cut the deck right in half, I’ll play from either side” ~Mary Chapin Carpenter, “I’ll take my chances”

The process I teach in my Journey program is the one I followed to unpack hidden hurts and heal them. Getting unstuck gave me the freedom to create and live the life of my dreams—a life full of joy and possibility, connected relationships, and adventure.

Let’s Play

If this is the year you, too, wish to become unstuck and finally heal those old wounds, schedule a virtual coffee date with me and let’s see if we’re a good fit to work together.