All roads lead to childhood

From age 0 until age 4 our brains undergo a remarkable development. At some point during these years, over a million neural connections are made every single second, a rate unmatched by any other life stage. By age 4, our brain is 80% developed.

The book "The body keeps the score" notes that “our brains are sculpted in our early experiences” - This is when our beliefs systems are formed.  

We wrongly believe babies and small kids don’t remember anything. Our brains and our physical bodies certainly do. Stored in the subconscious, these imprinted memories shape largely how we feel, interact and live our entire lives. And more often than not, these turn into “life sentences”: the one-liners that reverberate in our heads and are so hard to shake off. The ultimate reasons why most of us end up in therapy:

• "I am not good enough"
• "I am better alone"
• "Nobody loves me"
• 
  Sounds familiar?

I am sure it does, as two-thirds of adults experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), such as neglect or emotional, physical or sexual abuse. These 'wounds' are linked a higher likelihood of negative health outcomes, including chronic illness, mental health struggles, substance misuse, and premature mortality. The further implications in our entire societies are vast.

It's staggering, therefore, how many of us spend our adult lives recovering from our childhood, and how little attention is given to these years in our societies. The early years should be "sacred years", and everyone should be talking about this.