It gets better

In their article, Robert Maunder and Jonathan Hunter highlight how traumatic events from our childhood can influence our behaviour and health as adults (“How Childhood Trauma Can Lead to Chronic Illness,” thewalrus.ca). These findings may help us understand the roots of mental illness and the perpetuation of transgenerational violence. But the relationship between childhood and adulthood is far more complicated than simple cause and effect.

Without belittling the suffering that people experience — or dismissing the authors’ attempts to effect change — I would argue that many individuals are able to transform the negative effects of their past into healthier and less violent futures. It would be fatalistic to believe that we live only in a domino pattern. Andrew Elliot Apong

Mississauga, ON