When Rosie Lee Harris of Columbus celebrated her 103rd birthday Monday, it prompted a familiar question: Why do some people live far beyond the normal life expectancy?
If there are factors that contribute to longevity, it is also reasonable to ask why some people die before their time and what factors influence a life cut short.
Longevity factors include genetics and lifestyle choices, while premature deaths are often influenced by things like stress, self-image and harmful lifestyle choices.
The seeds of premature death are often planted in childhood. Traumatic early-life experiences are linked to a much higher risk of dying before age 50.
In his book, “Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity,” inventor, engineer and former Johnson & Johnson executive Michael Menard applies his analytical skills to evaluate decades of public health data. He exposes a pattern he believes the medical establishment missed.
His premise is that knowing what people die from (heart attacks, overdoses, suicides, etc.) doesn’t explain what they die of (the role childhood trauma may play in those deaths).
Menard seeks to connect the dots between premature death and childhood trauma.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood trauma is when a child under the age of 17 experiences fear, emotional or physical pain, or their safety and well-being are threatened. Childhood trauma includes physical or emotional neglect, physical and mental abuse, being raised in a home where the parents have addictions, mental illness, violence in the home, or have been incarcerated, or if the child has experienced separation from one or both parents. If a child experiences four or more of these experiences by the age 17, that child has experienced what experts call complex childhood trauma.
Menard’s findings indicate that those classified as having suffered complex childhood trauma are 95 percent more likely to go to prison and nine times more likely to attempt suicide. Menard says five of the top 10 leading causes of death are associated with childhood trauma.
If Menard’s efforts expose the wound of childhood trauma, other experts are exploring ways to heal those wounds.
Retired Lt. Colonel Glenn Schiraldi, who holds a doctorate and is an expert on stress and its effects at the Pentagon, said that time doesn’t heal all wounds. The real healing agent, he says, is love, sometimes described as caring, respect, acceptance, compassion or concern. Schraldi believes love softens traumatic memories. And memories of being loved help us tolerate suffering.
Understanding the healing effects of love in all its manifestations, provides a higher purpose for every effort to mentor, teach or engage children.
As an example, the Starkville chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority is mentoring a group of girls ages 11 to 13 in Oktibbeha County. The mentorship’s stated purpose is to develop leadership skills, but the care and attention some of these children get from the program may be of even greater importance.
Organizations like Junior Auxiliary, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, arts, music and sports clubs and others child-focused efforts may seek to help children develop or improve specific skills. But the common denominator is the love that these programs represent and provide these children.
What can be more important than that?
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
