“We value living in a world where people care for one another, and the importance of feeling connected to the people around us. And it's these connections, these relationships that are founded in the earliest years of our lives.”
Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011. Since joining the British Royal Family, Kate has used her public platform to raise awareness about how experiences like homelessness, addiction, and poor mental health are often grounded in a difficult childhood.
In a conversation with Roman Kemp, Princess Catherine discussed the importance of one's childhood in shaping our lives.
Roman Kemp: “So, obviously, you know, you're working a lot around early childhood.
What exactly does that mean?”
Princess Catherine: “Early childhood, there's lots of different ways to talk about it but for us, really, it's from pregnancy to the age of five because it's when our brains are growing
the fastest, it's at its most malleable...So it’s really such a critical time to lay the foundations for our future adult selves, really.
“It's a bit like building a house and without strong foundations, without this sort of solid start in life, then those building blocks are much harder to build later on in life.”
Princess Catherine seeks to raise awareness of how early childhood trauma can affect mental health long into adulthood, with significant costs to individuals, their families, society, and the economy.
This phenomenon is well-researched and is known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur between the ages of 0-17 years.
Some examples of ACEs include:
experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect
witnessing violence in the home or community
growing up in a household with substance use problems, mental health problems, and/or
instability due to parental separation or household members being incarcerated.
If you think you may be suffering from the impact of ACEs, know that you are not alone; ACEs are common, with about 64% of US adults reporting to have experienced at least 1 type of ACE.
"You know, it's really important to stress that we can't take a fatalistic outlook on this either, you know. For those who haven’t had happy childhoods, they can still go on to happy, healthy lives with the right support and the right interventions as well."
-Princess Catherine
Princess Catherine is right; there are many proven and effective intervention strategies you can undergo to overcome ACEs, such as meditating, exercising, engaging with social support systems, and speaking with a mental health professional.
More than anything, Princess Catherine believes that in order to break down the stigma around mental health, we need to speak up and have open and honest conversations about mental health.
If you would like to discuss mental health challenges with a professional, then contact us for a free consultation.