Because of the Adversity I Faced in Childhood, There’s Nothing I Can’t Do!
A 16-year-old who grew up experiencing adversity in childhood said this to Brian Martin several years ago, and he included her story in his book, Invincible: The 10 Lies You Learn Growing Up With Domestic Violence and the Truths to Set You Free. Thinking about this statement raises an interesting question. Why do so few who experience adversity in childhood believe the same thing that this young...
Can Adversity in Childhood Create Emotional Strength?
The same adversities you faced in your childhood home that led you to believe LIES about yourself also allowed you to develop skills and abilities that others don't have. These skills -- or gifts -- are inside each of you and are found by replacing the LIES you learned with the TRUTHS. And while the process of uncovering these gifts may differ from one person to the next, without question,...
How Do We Unlearn the Lies Learned in Childhood?
Every day we have opportunities to unlearn lies we may have learned. Many of the lies that we believe about ourselves were seeded in childhood. Especially if you grew up in violent home. A home in which the violence could have been physical or nonphysical. Those opportunities may not always be obvious, however. They are hard to spot. Here we will explore an example of how one man took notice of...
The Unsung Gifts of Adversity
No one wishes to have had a difficult or painful childhood. Such adversity scars people for life. Yet if you grew up living with domestic violence, you were forced to develop skills, awareness and abilities that can set you up for immense success now and into your future. I call these the "unsung gifts of adversity," and here I want to explore how growing up with domestic violence can also make...
What Unknown Special Skill Do Those who Experience Childhood Domestic Violence Have Access To?
“I understand that I cannot control the thoughts and actions of others. But I can exercise the ultimate control – control over the meaning of any situation – control over myself. When I am in control of my thoughts and my feelings and my actions, nothing is more powerful.” (INVINCIBLE: The 10 Lies You Learn Growing Up With Domestic Violence, and the Truths to Set You Free, Chapter 6). You have...
What Is the One Truth You Must Know?
“The worst guilt to accept is an undeserved guilt.” –Ayn Rand, Atlas ShruggedIf you grew up living with domestic violence, it is highly likely that you carry with you a false sense of GUILT – a false sense of shame. You believe that you are somehow guilty or that you have something to be ashamed of. That it was your fault.Let’s look at it more specifically.The LIE: You are somehow responsible...
Compassion is a Gift You Earned if You Grew Up Living with Domestic Violence
Only those who have suffered can truly understand what suffering feels like. If you grew up in a home with domestic violence, you understand suffering. Because you endured this pain and fear as a child, you have a unique gift: an enormous capacity for compassion. You Are Uniquely Designed You have endured far more hardship in childhood than most people will ever have to face. You know what it’s...
A 3 Simple Question Test to Determine If You Grew Up Living with Domestic Violence
Did you grow up in a home living with domestic violence? That question doesn't get asked very often, but we must ask it of ourselves and of those we care about. Because if the answer is yes, you should know that it has an impact on a life. 1. Did your parents or those who cared for you hurt one another physically? You were there, you saw it, heard it, you felt it. Even if they weren’t...
Growing Up with Domestic Violence Makes You Stronger
When I tell people that I grew up in a home where there was severe domestic violence, I get a few different reactions. For some, it’s pity – “Oh. poor you. How did you ever survive that?” For others, it’s disbelief – “But how could you have grown up like that? You’re so confident and self assured.” There are also those people who, upon finding out about my childhood, treat me as if I’ve been...
Ordinary Magic: Resilience Processes in Development
By Ann MastenAnn Masten's study of resilience in development reveals surprising conclusions on the "ordinariness of resilience" - "Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources in the minds, brains, and bodies of children, in their families and relationships, and in their communities." Read more HERE
The circular impact of ACEs, education, and long-term health
“The field of public health recognizes education is a social determinant of health” says Shanta Dube, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Georgia State University and CDVA Georgia Chapter Board member. Health studies have shown that U.S. adults who faced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are likely to report less education, as ACEs cause negative social and behavioral outcomes. And reversely,...
How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime | Nadine Burke Harris
Pediatrician Nadine Burke began to see patterns among the children she treated in her practice. She noticed a large percentage of children coming in with the same symptoms and false diagnosis. As a doctor with a string commitment to public health, she began to look for similarities among these children and discovered something striking - what they all had in common were Adverse Childhood...
Bad childhood experiences can make us unhealthy
By Daniel WeintraubDaniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee recaps the ACE study, and discusses its widening influence in the medical community. When it first came out, very little about medical practice was adjusted. Now doctors will discuss ACE's with their patients, and more of them are recommending mindfulness meditation as a coping strategy. Read Weintraub's article...
Child Abuse Facts
Source: Safe HorizonVarious statistics about child abuse.Read more HERE.
How Does CDV- Childhood Domestic Violence – Impact a Life?
Childhood domestic violence is what happens to any person who grows up in a home living with domestic violence in their childhood. UNICEF calls it “one of the most pervasive human rights issues of our time.”Domestic violence from a childhood standpoint is when there is violence between parents or when there is violence toward a parent – perhaps from a stepparent or a significant other.The...
The Impact Adversity in Your Childhood Home Has on Your Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness
By Brian F. Martin, Author of INVINCIBLEOur founding fathers believed everyone was "endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." This principle also applies to anyone who grew up facing adversity in their childhood home.But, while we may have been "endowed" with these rights at birth, the home we grow up in can have a...
The circular impact of ACEs, education, and long-term health
“The field of public health recognizes education is a social determinant of health” says Shanta Dube, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Georgia State University and CDVA Georgia Chapter Board member. Health studies have shown that U.S. adults who faced Adverse Childhood...
How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime | Nadine Burke Harris
Pediatrician Nadine Burke began to see patterns among the children she treated in her practice. She noticed a large percentage of children coming in with the same symptoms and false diagnosis. As a doctor with a string commitment to public health, she began to look...
Bad childhood experiences can make us unhealthy
By Daniel WeintraubDaniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee recaps the ACE study, and discusses its widening influence in the medical community. When it first came out, very little about medical practice was adjusted. Now doctors will discuss ACE's with their patients,...
Child Abuse Facts
Source: Safe HorizonVarious statistics about child abuse.Read more HERE.
How Does CDV- Childhood Domestic Violence – Impact a Life?
Childhood domestic violence is what happens to any person who grows up in a home living with domestic violence in their childhood. UNICEF calls it “one of the most pervasive human rights issues of our time.”Domestic violence from a childhood standpoint is when there...
The Impact Adversity in Your Childhood Home Has on Your Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness
By Brian F. Martin, Author of INVINCIBLEOur founding fathers believed everyone was "endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." This principle also applies to anyone who grew up facing adversity...
SHARING Our Stories Helps Us Unlearn the LIES of CDV and Discover the TRUTHS
By Brian F. Martin, Author of INVINCIBLE For most of us who've grown up with domestic violence, just knowing that our “issues” stem from our childhood isn't enough. Perhaps you’ve already made that connection. But whether you have or haven’t, it helps to be able to...
Sesame Street Communities Features Insightful Video on Responses of Children Facing CDV & Other Traumatic Events, Shows How a Caring Adult Can Help Undo the Damage
Trauma has a negative impact on a child’s developing brain and can trigger stress responses and coping mechanisms that can be different from one child to the next. Not all children are the same and not children respond to trauma the same way. Some children’s responses...
RECENT ARTICLE IN CANADA OUTLINES STEPS FOR FOSTERING RESILIENCY IN CHILDREN, PARTICULARLY AFTER ACE’S
In a recently published article in Canada, Vicki Hazelwood, Co-ordinator at the Lethbridge Early Years Coalition captures the essence and key pillars of resilience simply and compellingly – particularly as it relates to fostering resilient children. Resiliency is the...
Giving Teachers the Tools to Help Build Resiliency
A teacher writes on a chalkboard during a class at the Korean High School in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014. The school in Tokyo’s Kita ward looks much like any such Japanese institution with a large clock sitting atop of gray buildings. Inside, all notices...
If you faced childhood adversities like Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV), health-promoting activities can help foster your healing and resiliency in adulthood
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin Dr. Shanta Dube, Associate Professor at Georgia State University, who is on our Georgia Chapter’s Board, has spent decades tracking and evaluation Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their...
For Traumatized Children, An Offer Of Help From The Muppets
"Sesame is better known for teaching preschoolers letters and numbers. But those familiar furry characters are also taking on tougher topics" For children growing up with Childhood (CDV) and other Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACE's), seeing their favorite TV...
Why I Chose to Share My Story in CDV’s Book INVINCIBLE
By Roger LockridgeWhen I was asked to contribute to INVINCIBLE, there was no hesitation about whether I should be a part of it or not. How often can you do something that may possibly help millions of people change their lives for the better? In my opinion, there is...
What I Gained from Reading About CDV in INVINCIBLE
By Roger “ROCK” Lockridge, Guest Blogger and contributor to INVINCIBLEIt’s very likely that most of you reading this blog have been directly affected by what we now know as Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV) or you know someone who has. If that is the case, I hope you...
Why Children Stay Silent About Domestic Violence
By CDVThose who have never experienced domestic violence may sometimes question why a child would stay silent when living in such a home. Children don’t usually talk about it, though. They are afraid they may get into trouble. Or they fear that one of their parents...
The Chilling 911 Call You Won’t Hear During the Super Bowl February 1, 2015 By Brian F. Martin
By CDVFrom Brian F. Martin BLOG (http://brianfmartin.com/2015/02/01/the-chilling-911-call-you-wont-hear-during-the-super-bowl) A friend who works with me at www.cdv.org texted me the link to a domestic violence ad that will run during the Super Bowl and said, “watch...
Why Does No One Google Search “Children and Domestic Violence”?
I grew up living with domestic violence. So did my mom. So did her mom. So did 40 million other adults in the US. So I asked some of them, “In your life, can you remember a time when domestic violence was more talked about?” They all said, “No, never.” Then I asked,...
The Adversity Faced in Childhood That Has No Name
Did you know that growing up facing adversity in your childhood home has an impact on your life that can last well into your adult years? The adversity negatively wires a developing brain. This can cause us to struggle with our relationships, emotions, behaviors, and...
5 Things I Shared with Graduates Who Grew Up Facing Adversity in Childhood
Last week, I had a chance to speak with young men and women who just graduated; some from high school and some from college. They all had one thing in common — they grew up facing adversity in their childhood homes. They also shared one other common bond — they were...
Last Month, California Became 1st U.S. State to Begin Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Like Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV)
On January 1st, California became the first U.S. state to begin formally screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - early childhood adversities faced in a child’s home, including abuse, neglect, CDV, etc, that can have profound and defining impact on a...
Two critical puzzle pieces can change the odds for children of domestic violence: public schools are failing at both
For two days a week – Monday and Thursday – School Counselor Brett Welch can be found greeting students as they arriving to class in Harvie Elementary School in VA. She carefully examines the young faces as they walk in for signs of distress. According to Welch, “The...
New Mexico Conference Reaffirms that Awareness Is Key First Step to Prevention of ACEs Like CDV
Last October, the New Mexico Voices for Children hosted their second annual KIDS COUNT Conference, in conjunction with Ngage New Mexico. Aptly named "Childhood Trauma: From Symptoms to Systems Change" the conference aimed to build awareness for, identify and engage...
3 Out of 4 Said to Call It Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV)!
Childhood Domestic Violence is the last unknown, unnamed, unaddressed major childhood adversity of 10 major Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) that researchers agree can have a profound, defining impact on a life. Although it impacts an estimated 1 in 7 people and...
Are You a Child of Domestic Violence? How Do You Know?
Are you a child of domestic violence? How do you know? This may be the first time you’re coming across the words “child of domestic violence”. You may be wondering what these words really mean or if you might be one. This question may have never entered your mind...
What Is Childhood Domestic Violence?
Most people have heard the words domestic violence. They know what it is, or at the very least, they are aware it exists.When we say “domestic violence” the words that most typically come to mind are women, abuse, pain, and violence. Children rarely come to mind. Less...
Don’t Miss the Groundbreaking “Dr. Phil” Episode on Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence Featuring Makers of Memories
The groundbreaking “Dr. Phil” episode featuring Makers of Memories that focused on the impact of childhood exposure to domestic violence will re-air Tuesday, March 20th. It originally aired January 16th on CBS affiliates nationwide, receiving a tremendously positive...
My Future Is as Bright as I Want It to Be – The CDV Foundation Taught Me That
My Future Is as Bright as I Want It to Be – The CDV Foundation Taught Me ThatBy Chelsea Waldroup, 16 years old Former child of domestic violence featured in documentary “The Children Next Door”It’s the elephant in the room – the intense emotions of being torn between...
4 Things I Learned About Childhood Adversity at a High Security Prison
This April, I was inside a high security prison. The plan was to talk to the men there about the work CDV does and to educate them on the connection between childhood adversities and the potential impact. While I believe I educated them, they also educated me. Here is...
Distinguished ACE Study Researcher Joins Chapter Board of Pioneering Nonprofit Focused on Least Known Childhood Adversity – Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV)
Dr. Shanta Dube’s Aggregate Research Experience and Knowledge on the Profound Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Will Help Optimize Interventions & Positive Outcomes Among Those Exposed to Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV) in Metro Atlanta ATLANTA,...
Adversity Can Break You, Or It Can Make You Invincible
Andrew Bret WallisJanice Holly Booth discusses CDV, INVINCIBLE, and the Resentment, Loneliness, and Fear lies with founder Brain F. Martin on the AARP website. In this interview, Brian discusses the lies associated with Childhood Domestic Violence: 1. that you are a...
CDV, Nick News with Linda Ellerbee Program Receives Emmy Nomination
Special about Childhood Domestic Violence Accomplishes Three Critical Goals Read the Hollywood Reporter article We could not be more honored to have had the opportunity to work with Nickelodeon in the creation of the Nick News with Linda Ellerbee...
CDV & Nickelodeon’s Emmy Nominated Children’s Program Spotlights Childhood Domestic Violence
“It was very unpredictable, we didn’t know what to expect…I believe my mom stayed because she wanted to make it work.” – Chelsea Waldroup“When my parents would fight, to me that was normal because I didn’t know what a normal parent was at the time.” – Emily...
Our Award-Winning Documentary about Children and Domestic Violence Makes International Debut
The Children Next Door Screening at Prestigious Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival in GreeceThe Children Next Door, an Award-Winning documentary sponsored by Children of Domestic Violence and released last fall, made its international debut at the prestigious...
A Call by Physicians for Physicians to Significantly Improve Screening & Intervention Approach to Children Impacted by CDV
“Children who witness violence in the home and children who are abused may display many similar psychologic effects,” according to Dr. Melissa M. Stiles, M.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School. This topic of children, domestic violence and the role of...
Expert Says Widespread Awareness & Understanding Are Essential to Address Potentially Lifelong Impact of Major Childhood Adversities
A candid interview with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, founder of the Center for Youth Wellness and author of “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity”, provides powerful validation for what we already know to be true: that Adverse Childhood...
How Trauma Rewires the Brain
Experiencing trauma can significantly rewire the brain, as hormones are released in excess due to stress. Fortunately, therapy can provide an understanding of emotions, helping to restore balance to the brain. This article features input from Licensed Psychologist and...
Building Brainerd’s resilience: Could research on childhood trauma change society?
By Chelsey PerkinsData from Minnesota backs up the original Adverse Childhood Experience study; facing repeated and extreme stress in childhood severely alters the brain chemistry of an individual, both at the time and perhaps forever after. This is associated with...
ACE Study
By Vincent FelittiThis is the original Adverse Childhood Experience study, which first brought this health issue to the attention of the medical community. Much of the research done on this topic was inspired by this groundbreaking achievement. the language and...
A New Understanding of the Childhood Brain
The lifelong impact of toxic stress caused by childhood adversity, like CDV, can have a lasting and profound impact on people into adulthood. By spreading awareness about CDV we can minimize that impact and create positive change. This short animation by The Atlantic...