A closer look
Childhood trauma doesn't just live in the mind; it leaves a permanent, highly sensitive scar on your central nervous system. According to the Gate Control Theory of pain, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) keep the body in a prolonged state of hyperarousal. This toxic stress physically alters the neuroplasticity of the dorsal horn in the spinal cord. The biological gates that usually filter out minor painful stimuli get stuck wide open, meaning a standard backache at age forty registers as excruciating, magnified agony.
