What if health issues, addictions and premature death are caused by the role of repressing childhood trauma?

Vincent J. Felitti, M.D., made this case to a packed room at the Walter Soboleff Building Tuesday, backing up his assertions with decades of study, research and analysis. His conclusion was that repressed adverse childhood experiences can manifest in adults by altering their well-being, causing disease and even premature death.

“Addiction is the unconscious, compulsive use of psychoactive materials or agents,” Felitti said during the noon lecture sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute. “In plain-speak, it’s hard to get enough of something that almost works. ... Maybe the next mouthful, maybe the next drink, the next cigarette, the next woman, the next man, the next dose of whatever I buy on the street, and if not, surely the one after that.”

Felitti brought up example after example of the importance of asking the question ‘why’ to get to the root of the problem, something that’s often overlooked in the medical field.Often in medicine, symptoms are treated and not the root cause, Felitti pointed out. He said we don’t treat house fires that way — if so, we would simply try to blow away the smoke instead of putting out the fire.

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