Childhood Trauma: Healing From A Traumatic Childhood
Trauma experienced in childhood can have a deep impact on adult life. You may feel like that period of your life isn’t relevant to who you are today, but it turns out that trauma we hold onto from childhood can affect every aspect of our adult life.
Our memories from childhood can vary greatly, and for some, negative things happen that can rock a child’s world. For many, the traumatic experiences from childhood, and emotional and psychological stress, are something that cannot be forgotten so easily.
In this blog we’ll learn more about the signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults, how this might be affecting your life today, and what you can do to overcome childhood trauma.
Understanding Repressed Childhood Trauma
What is childhood trauma? Childhood trauma occurs when a child experiences negative events that leave them feeling vulnerable, frightened and unsafe. The definition of childhood trauma differs for each person. It may occur directly to a child, such as childhood abuse, or because a parent or carer is affected by their trauma, leaving them unable to meet a child’s needs. This is also known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs.)
For those who have experienced childhood trauma, pushing down painful traumatic memories is often the only way to cope with the strong emotions that the past brings. However, this form of emotional protection can cause many different signs of repressed trauma in adults.
Repressed memories can be challenging to heal, mostly because a person may not be aware of their existence or their impact on their life.
At what age is trauma most impactful?
The effects of childhood trauma can be felt at any point in a person’s life. Even when someone thinks they have moved through the moment of trauma, it can have lasting effects and trigger all sorts of other situations and feelings throughout life.
Whether the trauma occurs during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, traumatic experiences can leave lasting effects on mental health and well-being.
How do I know if I experienced childhood trauma?
There are many different types of childhood trauma. For some, memories will be traumatic and need to be addressed immediately. For others, the trauma may not have been recognised at the time, or a child may not have had the right support around them to be able to process it.
When the trauma experienced in childhood is left unprocessed, it can show up later on in adult life in differing ways. Here are some of the most common signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults:
Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the biggest symptoms of childhood trauma in adults. Trauma causes a child to enter a state of fight or flight. This trauma stays in the body and can present as anxiety. As an adult, this may look like a tendency to worry, a lack of self-trust, and a need to control things.
Mood swings
Traumatic childhood experiences can leave a person struggling to regulate their emotions. Being honest about what you are feeling will help you to begin to make connections with any memories from the past.
Attachment issues
Attachment issues are one of the symptoms of childhood trauma in adulthood. If a child has witnessed traumatic events, they may struggle with emotional safety and attachment in adult relationships. This often shows up as codependency, where a person relies on another to satisfy their emotional needs.
Childlike behaviour
Regression is common for trauma survivors. A person begins to revert to the child that is still inside them, displaying outbursts of anger, childlike speech, or even tantrums. These are all coping mechanisms that may be adopted when trauma is stored away and not processed.
Self-esteem issues
Low self-esteem can be damaging on many levels, and long-lasting if not dealt with. On the opposite spectrum, a person who is affected by repressed trauma may think too highly of themselves, be preoccupied with their own needs, seek attention from others, and display narcissistic and/or manipulative behaviour. If you’re struggling with self-esteem issues, have a look at some of our tips here.
Feeling on edge
People who have experienced trauma will often have a dysregulated nervous system. Proper healing of repressed trauma allows for closure and will stop a person from feeling so on edge.
Trust issues
As children, our caregivers are the first people we trust. If they were not able to protect you and keep you safe in the way you needed, you may have developed trust issues as an adult. This can deeply affect many parts of life, especially relationships.
Addictions
Many adults who experienced trauma as a child will develop coping methods to numb the pain they feel deep within. This might look like alcohol or drug dependency, substance abuse, or addictions. The more ACEs a person has had, the higher their risk of addictive behaviour. signs of childhood trauma
Physical and Mental Health Impact of Childhood Trauma
Traumatic experiences in childhood can be especially damaging in adulthood. The long-term physical impact of carrying trauma in the body has been linked to cancer, strokes, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, eating disorders, substance abuse, and many more conditions. This is thought to be due to an increase in the body’s stress hormone response.
It is known that stress lowers our immune systems, which leads to more frequent illness and health problems. Studies have shown that stress experienced during traumatic events can cause a type of memory loss known as dissociative amnesia, which allows the brain to forget painful memories of the past. Recent research has indicated that those who have experienced childhood trauma are much more likely to suffer from mental illnesses.
Complex traumas such as sexual abuse, emotional and/or physical abuse, or even witnessing domestic violence or natural disasters, are all examples of childhood trauma that put a child’s body in a constant state of stress. This can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which may show up as flashbacks, disassociation, and behavioural issues.
It’s important to speak with a mental health professional if you think that you, or someone you know, may be suffering from PTSD.
Uncovering Repressed Trauma
It can feel challenging to unearth repressed trauma, but it’s important to process the things that you have been holding onto. Meditation can provide a quiet space for you to tune into, and acknowledge your feelings. Much of the trauma we repress is stored in our muscles so combining meditation with movement and exercise will help begin the release process.
Counselling and therapy can help you to safely recall repressed trauma from childhood, and gently process it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one approach which works by replacing negative thought and behaviour patterns with healthier, more positive ones.
Healing from Childhood Trauma
It is common to feel a sense of sadness and grief as you let go of the trauma you have been holding onto. If you’re wondering how to heal from childhood trauma, here are some ways to support yourself through this:
Recognise and acknowledge the trauma
When it comes to healing childhood trauma in adults, it can be distressing to unearth past pain. But holding space for yourself to recognise what happened and meet your feelings is an important part of the healing process. You are not to blame for the experiences that have caused you to feel unsafe.
Ask for help
Working with a therapist or talking things through with a trusted person can help you to feel less alone. Working through your past experiences will help you to recognise how this stored trauma plays out in your life today.
Process your feelings
Journaling is a fantastic way of making sense of the things you are feeling. You can use it to connect to your inner self, and if you can, allow your thoughts to pour out onto the paper, without judgement. You can find out more about its benefits here.
Begin to build self-trust
Building self-trust is the first step on the journey to regaining your sense of power. There are many ways to build self-trust, such as following through with commitments you’ve made to yourself, and showing yourself kindness.
Find ways to regulate your nervous system
A regulated nervous system helps us to deal with stress more calmly and will help us to experience increased well-being. Ways to regulate the nervous system include deep breathing, spending time in nature, and practising mindfulness.
Does childhood trauma ever go away?
Healing childhood trauma can feel like a huge obstacle and it can be challenging to know where to start. Trauma not only affects the period of life it occurs in, but it can continue to influence life as an adult too. Whilst we cannot change the past, we can learn to navigate our feelings around the trauma, so that it doesn’t have the same hold over us.
It takes time and patience to heal childhood trauma. This often begins with deep self-exploration and acceptance not only of what has occurred but how we are feeling too. The reality of the trauma we have faced may never go away, but it is very possible to get to a place where we feel more at peace and can move forward more positively with our life.
Key Takeaways
Healing childhood trauma is an important part of spiritual growth, and can transform your life. There is lots you can do to meet yourself where you are, and create the right environment to begin to process any hurt from your past. This begins with acknowledging how you are feeling, and committing to giving yourself the time and space to process things.
Working with an experienced therapist such as Gareth can help you to delve deeper and get to the root of childhood trauma that could be affecting your life today.