There’s a Reason Scott Disick Keeps His Children Close

People know Scott Disick.

He’s been in the spotlight since he began modeling as a teenager.

At 39, he’s a world famous reality TV star.

He’s the on again, off again, on again boyfriend of Kourtney Kardashian and former partner to Sofia Richie, daughter of the legendary singer, Lionel Richie.

Disick and Kardashian have three children together: Mason, 13, Penelope, 10, and Reign, 8. Disick is also known as the entrepreneur who launched the Talentless clothing brand, a vitamin promoter, and nightclub investor.

Those who follow Disick, including more than 28 million Instagram fans, know he has ups and downs. Like with many celebrities, millions feel a connection. Disick’s regular, adoring Instagram posts of little Mason, Penelope and Reign can leave people feeling like family.

“All Scott talks about is his kids,” a friend said. “He’s definitely a very good father and cares and loves them so much. He wants to be a good role model to them.”

Recently, Disick shared a picture of Penelope with the caption: “My darling, darling baby, I barely have words for what this little girl means to me. Love ❤️ my peep.”

Disick’s Instagram account overflows with tender, loving moments connected to his children.

Fans notice. Many say they wished they had such a doting parent.

“I wish my father talked about me like this. She’s a lucky little girl,” wrote one Instagram fan.

Another replied: “Me too, I’d do anything for even 5% of the effort of what Scott puts into his kids.”

What many fans don’t know is how much Scott Disick’s life has been shaped by trauma. The script he’s lived out publicly — dropping out of school, delinquency, addictions, breakups and recovery — were likely written years before he was born.

Although I’m not a mental health professional, working with thousands on the frontlines of veteran homelessness and suicide prevention for more than a decade has taught me to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma; the faces too.

My mother was a mental health professional. She devoted nearly her entire adult life to helping others.

There was one thing she never talked about with me, except for once: the Holocaust.

The only story she shared was about a day in 1944 when her father received a phone call.

“They’re all dead,” were the words she remembered her dad speaking out loud. None of the family and friends who’d remained in Europe had been able to escape the Nazi genocide.

None.

Soon afterwards, the grandfather I’d never meet had a massive heart attack. He died. A short time later, her mother was dead too. At 16, mom was an orphan.

From that moment, mom’s life would never be the same. Much of the script for my life that would begin 17 years later had already been written.

It was long into adulthood that I came to understand the sadness, despair, and anger that I had often felt from my mother.

Her story, my story, and as you’ll discover, Scott Disick’s story are similar to stories many carry within us; often unknowingly.

A trauma that would shape Disick’s life happened five and a half years before he was born.

On Sunday, November 19, 1977, the same day Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made the historic peacemaking trip to Jerusalem, 164 passengers took off from Lisbon on a continuing flight between Brussels and the Portuguese resort island of Madeira. Disick’s grandparents – his father’s parents – were among those making the 600-mile journey.

“The pilot could not find the position for the final approach and circled three or four times,” reported one of the passengers. “At the last moment he came down, overshooting the field. The plane was going far too fast.”

The Boeing 727 plunged down an embankment and burst into flames.

Associated Press reported Dr. David Disick, a renowned New York dentist vacationing with his wife and dear friends, “crawled from the burning wreck of a Portuguese airliner, rolled in the mud to put out the flames on his back, and climbed 200 yards up a hill to safety as the plane exploded.”

Scott Disick’s grandmother, Shirley Disick, died in the crash. Two days later, Disick’s father, Jeffrey, and Uncle Ellis reached their dad in Portugal. When he was well enough to travel, they returned to the United States and buried Mrs. Disick – a grandmother Scott would never meet.

The late 1970’s were still a time people, men in particular, didn’t talk about trauma. There was no such thing as post traumatic stress disorder, widely known as PTSD. More often, they disappeared into any possible escape.

The traumas that forever influenced the lives of Disick’s parents didn’t end at his grandmother’s funeral. Four years after Scott Disick’s father said goodbye to his mother, Disick’s mother, Bonnie, buried her 22-year old brother, nicknamed “Boo”.

The idea of learning about our history through DNA began less than 20 years ago. The science itself has been around for more than 150 years. Scientists are still at an early stage when it comes to seeing, let alone understanding, the enormous data woven through every cell of our body. They do know, however, that there are events that cause cells to transform and mutate. Some researchers speculate that memories of trauma may be carried and passed generationally through DNA; that traumatic experiences shape the cells that influence how we think, feel, react, our capacities – perhaps even what we fear and our ambitions.

No one can be certain what those studies will reveal.

We can be certain that the traumatic events that shaped our parents and grandparents lives influenced how close they held us or how much they may have struggled to connect, how much joy and happiness they experienced or how much sadness, pain and despair they sought to escape.

At first, knowledge helps us understand. Later, understanding helps us choose.

If I’d understood the events that shaped my mother’s life earlier – my father’s too – instead of reacting, I could have chosen compassion.

What many refer to as the up’s and down’s in the lives of celebrities, friends, family, and many others, are typically ways of searching for relief from feelings and thoughts that may make little sense without deeper knowledge.

There’s a good reason Scott Disick holds his children close, fights for relationships when others might flee, and values family more than anything.

Is it any surprise he spent his 39th birthday surrounded by his children?