ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

I want to tell you a story about this little girl. Hers is the face of ACEs. Have you heard that acronym floating around the mental health arena?

ACEs. Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Her favorite question was “why?” as she sought to understand the world around her. She loved her Grandma Kitty, her earth angel, her saving grace, who was known in her retirement village as The Sunshine Lady. This sweet child loved singing songs to her Drowsy Doll while gliding through the air on her swing set. She liked to watch her Daddy shoot hoops in the driveway and belly laugh as he tossed her into the air. She was independent and smarter than your average toddler. She was a thinker, a rule follower, always studying and absorbing. She lived in a nice two family home on the upper level with her mom and dad, with her grandparents occupying the lower unit. Her parents dressed her in Polly Flinder dresses and saddle shoes, clomping on the wooden steps to the downstairs kitchen every morning as she scurried to snuggle into her grandmother’s warm embrace. She loved listening to Grandma Kitty sing Beatles songs as she baked something scrumptious.

Grandma Kitty

But then it all changed . . .

Age 5 - sexually molested by 16 year old neighbor

Age 9 - sexually molested by 19 year old neighbor

Age 10 - repeatedly molested by choir director o Age 10 - emotionally abused by nun assigned as school counselor

First 10 years of life – physically abused by father as his mental health deteriorated and mother’s alcohol and drug abuse increased, along with father’s loss of income and struggles with poverty

Age 14 - sexually accosted by religious education director in rectory where she worked in the evenings, helping the priests

Age 16 - lost virginity to date rape

Age 16 - gang attack and sexual assault

Age 17 - sexually accosted by police officer in charge of gang attack investigation

Age 21 – gun held to her head and coworker stabbed 3 times with a hunting knife during bank robbery

Age 22 – 3 months later, same assailants would return to main office, where she had just moved, only this time the assailant would pull the trigger and murder her co-worker; her 19 year old sister had just gone on break and the girl who was murdered had taken her sister’s place on the teller line; she had run from the bank and was hiding in the row houses behind the bank plaza when she came face-to-face with a second armed assailant who pointed his Luger at her but thankfully the gun misfired.

The next 25 years of her life would be spent battling horrific panic attacks. Night terrors, flashbacks to violent moments stored in the unprocessed memories of her brain, painful body memories . . . all reminders of the violations, the betrayals of trust, the torment and cruelty inflicted upon her innocence.

Then along came a therapist who recommended EMDR.

EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. And it was life-altering.

Over a four year time span she attended ninety-eight sessions of EMDR therapy. She began to create a coping skills tool box of complementary healing strategies, including practicing Ho’oponopono Hawaiian healing, EFT (tapping), yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and more: You can download the FREE Unicorn Coping Guide.

In 2017, she set out on a mission to share her story of hope with the world. Through speaking engagements; writing a book (which is still in the works); sharing a monthly newsletter, Hope for Healing; creating a website; writing a blog; working as a therapy dog team with her labradoodle, Sammie, volunteering with kids in school settings; and hosting The Healing Place Podcast in the hopes of reaching 1 million people with stories of hope and inspiration.

About The Author

Teri Wellbrock is a trauma-warrior, having survived and thrived after learning to cope with her C-PTSD symptoms and 25 years of severe panic attacks by utilizing EMDR therapy, personal research and learned coping skills along with a foundation of faith and positivity. She is currently writing a book, Unicorn Shadows: From Trauma to Triumph – A Healing Guide, about her multiple traumas, with the intent to help others reach their own joyous and peaceful existence via her “story of hope”. She also speaks publicly at trauma-recovery events about her triumph over trauma. Teri is mom to three beautiful children (ages 29, 26, and 16); graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology; has written a children’s book, The Doodle with the Noodle, with her daughter, about their Therapy Dog, Sammie the Labradoodle; has created the Sammie’s Bundles of Hope project (bags filled with trinkets of hope donated to children with trauma history); and is producer and host of The Healing Place Podcast. She maintains a blog at unicornshadows.com and writes a monthly newsletter, Hope for Healing. She has most recently released two online courses: her Trauma-Warrior 1-Day Introductory Course; & Be Your Own Hero 10-Day Course. Her life purpose is to make a positive difference in the lives of others and shine a light of hope into dark spaces.

Grandma Kitty