The ACE Test Part 2: Beyond the Score: What Healing Can Look Like

What If the Score Hits Too Hard?

So maybe you’ve taken the ACE test.

Maybe your score was higher than you expected. Or maybe it was low—but you still carry something heavy.

Either way, you’re not alone.

What the ACE Test Can’t Tell You

The ACE test measures exposure. It doesn’t measure impact. Two people can check the same boxes and walk away with completely different internal scars.

Trauma doesn’t play fair. It’s personal. And healing? Even more so.

So, What Now?

Whether your ACE score is 0, 10, or would be well over if the right questions had been asked—healing starts somewhere deeper.

It starts when:

·    Someone listens without trying to fix you.

·    You learn your reactions are adaptations, not defects.

·    You stop measuring your pain against someone else’s.

·    You realize the goal isn’t to forget—it’s to feel safe in your own skin again.

You don’t need to earn your healing with proof. You don’t have to justify it with a number.

What Actually Helps

·    Therapy that centers safety and connection—not just coping tools

·    Somatic work that helps reconnect your body and mind

·    Narrative processing (yes, writing counts)

·    Community—even one person who reminds you you’re not crazy for struggling

·    Rest—not earned, just needed

·    Patience, because real healing takes time

You can’t outthink trauma. You can’t logic your way through it. But you can build a life beyond it—one that’s not dictated by a score.

And If You’re Supporting Someone Else

Don't assume you know their story just because you know their background. Don’t ask, “Why didn’t you leave?” Ask, “What helped you survive?” And don’t measure someone’s healing by how “productive” they seem.

Measure it by how much more of themselves they’re allowed to be.

One Last Thing

If the ACE test started the conversation, that’s good.

But it’s only the beginning.

Let’s keep going.