Welcome from my talk on ACEs and Fibromylagia at the free online summit “Conquering Fibromyalgia,” hosted by Dr. Maribel Aviles, who shares how she has improved from fibromyalgia. Even though the summit is over, you can still access resources below.

I talked about how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other types of trauma can increase risk fibromyalgia. ACEs are also risk factors for chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) as well as autoimmune illness and many other chronic diseases.

It’s not psychological.

The science explains why it’s not in your head, and what kinds of tools support healing.

ACEs and Fibromyalgia: Free ACE Fact Sheets

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I’ve created two ACE Fact Sheets to summarize the hundreds of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) studies that validate how the effects of trauma are very real and affect our physiology.

There are at least 3 research studies showing that ACEs and other adverse events in childhood are risk factors for Fibromyalgia ⁽¹⁾Borsini A, Hepgul N, Mondelli V, et al. Childhood stressors in the development of fatigue syndromes: a review of the past 20 years of research. Psychol Med 2013;44(9):1809-23. doi: 10.1017/S0033291713002468, ⁽²⁾Olivieri P, Solitar B, Dubois M. Childhood risk factors for developing fibromyalgia. Open access rheumatology : research and reviews 2012;4:109-14. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S36086, ⁽³⁾Varinen A, Kosunen E, Mattila K, et al. The relationship between childhood adversities and fibromyalgia in the general population. J Psychosom Res 2017;99:137-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.06.011.

There are also studies showing that ACEs are risk factors for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ⁽⁴⁾Heim C, Nater UM, Maloney E, et al. Childhood trauma and risk for chronic fatigue syndrome: association with neuroendocrine dysfunction. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2009;66(1):72-80, ⁽⁵⁾Heim C, Wagner D, Maloney E, et al. Early adverse experience and risk for chronic fatigue syndrome: results from a population-based study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2006;63(11):1258-66. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.63.11.1258, ⁽⁶⁾Borsini A, Hepgul N, Mondelli V, et al. Childhood stressors in the development of fatigue syndromes: a review of the past 20 years of research. Psychol Med 2013;44(9):1809-23. doi: 10.1017/S0033291713002468.

The fact sheets

• include a reference to Dr. Borsini’s article reviewing 20 years of the research on ACEs and Fibromyalgia as well as ME/CFS
• have a one page questionnaire to calculate your ACE score
• can be used to share the science with a doctor or patient, family or friends, patients and clients, disability lawyers and insurance, and more

Remember: the good news is that it’s possible to heal the effects of trauma and that helping our bodies resolve trauma responses help with symptoms of chronic illness.

How A Medical Appointment Can Incorporate Talking About ACEs and Past Trauma

I misspoke in my talk about two different medical appointments that changed people’s lives.

The journalist I mention in my talk about “The Single Best Medical Appointment of My Life.” is Cissy White, who shares what it was like to talk with a health care professional about her very high ACE score without being judged. Her nurse practitioner had never heard of ACEs but was open to learning about it and incorporated it with what she already knew about the role of stress and chronic disease. The information was included with the rest of her history in a non blaming way and lead to a context for concrete tools to support her healing path.

The journalist who’s life changed when her doctor told her about the role of ACEs as a risk factor for chronic illness is Donna Jackson Nakazawa. She incorporated new tools for working with her health and improved from a number of autoimmune and other illnesses. She describes the appointment, some of the science behind ACEs, her journey and ACEs, and the approaches she implemented (which included meditation and a number of other mind body practices) in her book Childhood Disrupted:How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal.

Learn More About ACEs and Fibromyalgia

You can learn more about the science explaining how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk for chronic illnesses of all kinds, including fibromyalgia, in this introductory blog post.

My other ACEs post includes comments by Oprah Winfrey; important resources such as The Deepest Well, a book on how pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris applies the science in her medical practice; and a section describing how physicians and patients are finding it helpful to talk about ACEs during medical appointments.

My blog posts include a free downloadable ebook about ACEs and chronic disease.

I wish you all the best on your path of exploration. You’ll see just how far the science has come. You’ll also find support for what you may have suspected about how our past can affect our present health – and that there’s something we can do about it.

The Summit

Dr. Maribel Aviles, a family physician based in Orlando, Florida – hosted a series of free online presentations about Conquering Fibromyalgia from September 9th – 20th, 2019. It featured more than 18 of us, including other physicians, therapists, psychologists & more who share life-changing strategies to understand and heal from childhood trauma.

The conference included interviews with Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. and Dr. Jarred Younger Ph.D, who specialize in both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

My session discussed how childhood trauma is a risk factor for fibromyalgia, how healing trauma can help heal chronic illness, and why it’s not in your head.

Here’s a list of some of the speakers and their work: