Life's Best Medicine Podcast · Dr. Brian Lenzkes

Episode 289: Veronica Thompson

·1 hr 7 min·4 clips

Veronica says she had all 10 ACEs before age 16 and then became a teen mom.

1. Life's Best Medicine Podcast centers this episode on Veronica Thompson and childhood sexual abuse, trauma, and the ACE study. 2. Veronica Thompson is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, and the host is a doctor with 25 years of practice who frames the topic as a hard one. 3. The episode asks what early abuse does to health, behavior, faith, and family systems over time. 4. Veronica says she grew up in chronic instability and survived childhood sexual abuse and other abuse in her family. 5. The host describes the ACE study as starting in an obesity clinic, where a woman dropped from over 400 pounds to about 130. 6. Veronica says that same woman regained 37 pounds in three weeks after being sexually propositioned by an older man at work. 7. Veronica and the host name the 10 adverse childhood experiences as physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, neglect, domestic violence, incarceration, mental health issues, substance abuse, and caregiver separation or divorce. 8. The host says the ACE work involved over 17,000 participants at Kaiser in San Diego and that Dr. Felitti later took his email call personally. 9. The host says a score above five or six can shorten longevity by 20 years, and Veronica says those experiences affect physiology, development, and mental health. 10. Veronica says her own history included all 10 ACEs before age 16 and then becoming a teen mom. 11. Veronica says abuse is usually committed by someone the family knows, and she gives examples like family members, church members, coaches, and Girl Scout leaders. 12. The host says 92% of abusers are family members or trusted people, which challenges the assumption that danger comes from strangers. 13. Veronica argues that child sexual abuse requires a system response from emergency rooms, child protection services, law enforcement, courts, and families. 14. Veronica says a mother told her therapist that her husband had put a video recorder in the shower to film their son, and the first therapist did not call CPS. 15. Veronica says many churches hesitate because they fear damaging a ministry or reputation, even when a child reports abuse. 16. Veronica says survivors often carry conclusions like 'the world is dangerous,' 'I should keep quiet,' and 'I don't deserve justice.' 17. Veronica describes a Christian framework that includes free will, evil, spiritual warfare, and the need to stay engaged rather than hide in church. 18. The conversation is direct, pastoral, and heavily focused on practical systems, with the host using personal examples and Veronica answering in detailed explanations. 19. People interested in trauma, child protection, ACEs, and church response would likely want this episode. 20. Listeners looking for light entertainment or a casual health topic may skip it.

As heard by us

A blunt, compassionate talk about abuse, gaslighting, and the road back to voice.

This is a blunt, compassionate conversation about abuse, gaslighting, and faith. It works best when it names the fear directly and shows how being told not to speak about a wound can make someone doubt their own experience.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a direct conversation about abuse, gaslighting, and faith shaken by harm.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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