Q & A with Dr. B. – Can childhood emotional wounds impair the child’s health?

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this website, my book, and the Community Education course I teach at the College of Marin, is to teach people how to live a vibrant, meaningful life through the cultivation of self-empowerment and self-efficacy. In this weekly Q&A column, I post questions from students and from people who attend my presentations along with my answers.

Here is this week’s question:

QUESTION: Can childhood emotional wounds impair the child’s health?

ANSWER:  In my situation, it caused lifelong health problems and getting past it has been a real difficult challenge. I commonly didn’t feel well during my childhood years. Whenever I looked sad or uncomfortable, my mother would scold me. The emotional abuse and lack of empathy from both parents, especially from my mother, led to feelings of shame, which only exacerbated my health problems.