Fibromyalgia & Mental Health: This Did Not Happen OvernighT
Do you know a child living in a low-income community?
In my most recent blog post-Fibromyalgia & Mental Health: This Did Not Happen Overnight, I discuss how poverty and adverse childhood experiences play a role in developing chronic illness later in life. The content which was written for Social Health Network can be read via SHN.Com. But before you visit their website, please allow me to share more about why I open the door to vulnerability.
In This Did Not Happen Overnight you will hear me refer to “Little Milly”. She is the little girl inside me that needed to heal. Most of us can relate to having an inner child that lacked something. However, children in low-income communities lack a lot of things. This often leads to psychological anguish. The even more distressing issue is that many of those “things” should be available to every child. I plan to discuss those things in greater detail in future blog posts.
Secondly, we already know that education helps break the cycle of poverty. By embracing and sharing my reality I educate people on the injustices of being born poor.
Through my career in the social service sector, I have been invited to rooms with extremely wealthy people. Those experiences have helped me understand that there is a network of caring people with money that are willing and able to help. However, they do not always comprehend the poor persons reality. This is also true within my own community and family. Recently, I had to explain to someone how a child who grew up with two working parents and attended private school has better opportunities than others who have been born into families who have not yet broken the first generational poverty cycle. There are levels to this. If you are a person that is willing and able to help, I urge you to sit and listen attentively to the “broken”. I guarantee you that the conversation will be different than what you imagined.
Thirdly-Several Studies (cited in my article so don’t forget to read more on SHN.com) have shown that Poor Nutrition and Adverse Childhood Experience’s (ACES) delay brain development. ACES are traumatic events that happen before the age of 18 and have a lifelong effect on a person’s health, opportunities and stability. “Little Milly” was able to check off all ten ACES on this psychological assessment prior to her 18th birthday. This created a pattern of constantly pulling myself up by the bootstraps with little to no time for healing, processing or enjoying childhood. In low- income communities similar to where I grew up, live, and serve, many families find themselves stuck in a similar cycle. These traumatic experiences without support, change, and lack of empathy lead to generations of poverty. By opening the door to vulnerability, I repurpose my traumatic experiences and use them to amplify my reality. This is how I work towards building better outcomes for our children, communities and families.
As you all sit around the table later this month, I hope that you reflect on my call to action and serve a plate of love with families in need of support!
In Peace, Power & Progress!
Milly Velez