Hope Exists. Toxic Stress is Treatable.

There is hope. Toxic stress is treatable. 

Stress can sometimes be helpful - if we’re avoiding a car accident, or working hard to meet a deadline, stress hormones are released and our body goes into overdrive to ensure we overcome the obstacles before us. Once the danger or deadline has passed, we breathe, call a friend, sleep and return to a balanced state. However, whenever our bodies and minds are saturated with stressors so frequently that we are unable to fully recover between stressful events, the biological response to stress becomes toxic.

Adverse Childhood Experiences are traumatic occurrences that cause toxic stress - an incarcerated parent, hearing a caregiver screamed at or humiliated by another adult, changes in your caregiver’s relationship status, and others. Each of these childhood traumas puts you more at risk for lifelong issues. Three or more ACEs puts children 9 times more at risk for unexplained headaches & vomiting; 4 or more ACEs puts children 32 times more at risk for learning & behavior problems; 5 or more ACEs puts children 9 times more at risk for using illicit drugs before they’re 14; and the list continues. However, the risks and health issues don’t end when you’re 18. As an adult, you’re 2 times more likely to suffer from heart disease; 8 times more likely to perpetuate violence; and 4 times more likely to suffer from dementia. These statistics are horrifying and grounded in over a decade of research and data collection. 

After 14 years in Title 1 Schools, loving students with my whole heart, students and families have openly revealed countless and horrifying traumas: domestic violence, addiction, rape, physical abuse, emotional abuse, deaths that came way too soon...so much pain. If I were to fill out an ACEs screening for each of my students, well over half of them would have more than 4 (the tipping point for “high risk” life-long effects). This has been heartbreaking to discover and I’ve seen firsthand the effects these traumas have had on both my students and their families.

With this knowledge comes a choice. We can continue to reactively treat the symptoms of these traumas - turning a blind eye to the underlying causes or we can proactively prevent, treat, and heal. 

Reactively, we put lives on the line as we experience traumatic events in our neighborhoods and law enforcement places themselves in danger as they respond. In Springfield, our violent crime is 52% higher than the national average. Rape is 106% higher than the national average. And those statistics have continued to rise as 2020 was the most violent year in Springfield’s recent history. We spend millions of dollars each year on housing prisoners whose lives have often been altered by untreated toxic stress. The list goes on and on, draining resources that fail to solve the long term effects of toxic stress and ACEs. 

We all want a healthy, thriving community. Stronger Together Springfield is a burgeoning effort to unite proactively, getting to the root of these issues. We envision a community where everyone recognizes their role and responsibility in meeting a city-wide goal; where a community-wide network of care is accessible to all - helping citizens understand toxic stress, ACEs, and evidence-based strategies to build resilience. 

We know there’s hope. We know toxic stress is treatable. Let’s come together as a community and make tomorrow even better than today. 

​~Krista Pyle