In my current university program studies, a certain number of electives are required in order to fulfill the requirements of a degree.  Last year, I stumbled across an elective course on the subject of the social determinants of health (SDoH).  It sounded interesting so I decided to take it.  I have since taken two more courses on related subjects on health inequities and health promotions/interventions.  To say that I’m intrigued would be an understatement.

So, if you haven’t already heard of them, the SDoH are:  “the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (CDC, 2022).  Further, SDoH are “linked to a lack of opportunity and resources to protect, improve, and maintain health. Taken together, these factors create health inequities— types of health disparities that stem from unfair and unjust systems, policies, and practices, and limit access to the opportunities and resources needed to live the healthiest life possible” (CDC, 2022).

Borrowed from CMHA - Ontario

Borrowed from CMHA – Ontario

To be more specific, SDoH come in many forms:

  • unemployment and job security
  • gender
  • Indigenous status
  • disability
  • housing
  • early life
  • income and income distribution
  • education
  • race
  • employment and working conditions
  • social exclusion
  • food insecurity
  • social safety net
  • health services

Looking at the example of early life, unresolved childhood trauma can result in mental health and/or addictions issues, to name just two.

I think it’s easy to see how growing up (early life)  with, for example, a narcissistic parent could be considered a social determinant of health, encompassing the holistic (whole person) levels of mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social health.   These experiences have the strong potential to send us down paths that lead to serious impacts which negatively affect our overall health and wellbeing. There are obviously other SDoH’s listed above that could be linked with a dysfunctional upbringing.

With this knowledge in hand, a strong response as, say, an adult child of a narcissist(s) acquiring awareness of their disordered childhood and onward, would be: educating oneself on narcissism and its far-reaching, negative effects in order to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ on a personal level; engaging in regular self-care; accessing professional resources (mental health, coaching, wellness, etc.) to assist in their healing journey; and so on.  Focusing on the hurt caused by a toxic person or people doesn’t typically aid in healthy, positive progress.  But what does help is acknowledging the pain, understanding the mechanisms behind the dysfunctional behaviour and its impacts on us as targets, and then focusing on healing ourselves so that we can find peace and fulfillment in our lives and relationships of our choosing (as opposed to ones we were born into, should we decide we no longer wish to maintain them).

We owe it to ourselves to be resilient and move forward despite what we’ve endured.  Is it an easy task?  Definitely not.  But is it worth it?  Absolutely, 100 percent.  The possibilities for our lives are virtually limitless when we acquire the coping tools to see beyond the effects of the cloud of abuse and dysfunction, and maybe even remove ourselves from its unpleasant influence altogether.  That’s an entirely different topic, though – see previous posts on low contact and no contact.

More on this in future posts.

Until next time,

Heather ~Natural Clarity Coaching~ naturalclaritycoaching.com na********************@***il.com Natural Clarity Coaching on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter