Pandemic Challenges, 2

Pandemic Challenges, 2

Anecdotal reports are that people being cooped up together in relatively small quarters when they have not been accustomed to that, can create conflict and dysfunctional behaviors. No surprise. Put a dozen rats in a tiny space and they start biting each other, or worse. When children are present, they can be caught in the middle of parental arguing and fighting and be themselves abused and traumatized at the worst. A recent study has revealed the long-term impact of abuse and trauma for children. For example, both violence and abuse are linked to faster biological aging. This is shown by changes in brain structure, early onset of puberty, and cellular aging. In addition, the changes in brain structure include a thinner later of cortex, the outside layer of the brain. This thinner cortex is linked to dementia. I have seen that happen—and older person (one who was beaten every day during childhood for small infractions) who develops symptoms of dementia soon after retirement when there was no familial history of that.  More tomorrow.