Childhood Trauma and Its Effect On Adulthood

The most common causes of childhood trauma include –

• Accidents
• Bullying
• Chaos or dysfunction in the house ( such as domestic violence, parent with mental illness, substance abuse)
• Death of a loved one
• Emotional abuse or neglect
• Physical abuse or neglect
• Separation from a parent
• Sexual Abuse
• Stress caused by poverty
• Violence (at home, in school or surrounding community)
• Life threatening accidents and injuries
• Discrimination

Impact of childhood Trauma

Cognition –

• Impaired readiness to learn
• Difficult problem solving
• Language delays
• Problems with concentration
• Poor academic achievement

Brain Development –

• Smaller brain size
• Less efficient processing
• Impaired stress response
• Changes in gene expression

Behaviour –

• Poor self esteem
• Social withdrawal
• Aggression
• Poor impulse control
• Risk taking / illegal activity
• Sexual acting out
• Adolescent pregnancy
• Drug and alcohol misuse

Mental Health –

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Negative self image / low self esteem
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Suicidal tendency

Relationships

• Attachment problems / disorders
• Poor understanding of social interactions
• Difficulty forming relationship with peers
• Problem in romantic relationships
• Intergenerational cycles of abuse and neglect

Emotions

• Difficulty controlling emotions
• Trouble recognizing emotions
• Limited coping skills
• Increased sensitivity to stress
• Shame and guilt
• Excessive worry, hopelessness
• Feelings of helplessness / lack of self efficacy

Physical Health

• Sleep disorders
• Eating disorders
• Poor immune system functioning
• Cardiovascular disease
• Shorter life span

Therapy Techniques for Healing Childhood Trauma In Adults

Therapy is specific to individual receiving treatment, so the best technique makes an individual feel comfortable and able to process there past. The most researched, evidence based approaches to childhood trauma are –

1. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – is an evidence based treatment with the support of significant psychological associations as an effective form of therapy to change behavioural and thinking patterns. CBT works for variety of anxiety, stress, and depressive disorders.
2. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy – is a practical treatment choice for mental disorders because the focus of therapy includes emotion regulation, mindfulness and stress tolerance. DBT is well recognized by therapist who treat mood and personality disorders.
3. Eye movement desensitization and Reprocessing – is a psychotherapy technique that involves a clinician facilitating an individual to access traumatic memories by providing a guide to their eye movement while the client processes the situation psychologically. This form of therapy is related to post traumatic disorders.

Additionally treatment styles consider less evidence based approaches and are still therapeutic like art and play therapy.

Seek Professional Help and Guidance

In many cases, counsellors and therapists can serve as the greatest allies for adults navigating childhood trauma. This is largely because trained mental health professionals are well equipped to help people work through and heal from their experiences.

Read the complete article available at Thrive Global!

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