The latest research shows that childhood trauma is linked to anxiety, depression, and relationship issues in adulthood. Early childhood issues may impact the functionality of brain structures such as the hippocampus and alter neurobiological mechanisms that manage stress responses. This research highlights the importance of addressing childhood problems once you’ve reached adulthood and of working with a therapist to resolve long-standing challenges.
Signs You’re Affected Childhood Trauma
You may be wondering whether childhood trauma has impacted your adult life. There are specific signs that must be taken into consideration and addressed. These signs include the following:
- Overwhelming feelings of guilt
- Constant exhaustion
- Wanting to avoid others
- Disturbed sleep patterns
- Difficulty maintaining relationships
Each of these examples is a clear sign that childhood trauma is affecting your life. It’s important to move forward and address this long-standing problem. To help guide you in this process, we’ll look at several tips for dealing with childhood trauma as an adult.
Acknowledge and Recognize Trauma
One of the first steps in overcoming childhood trauma is to acknowledge that the problem exists. Many victims try to suppress their feelings regarding the trauma, but this may also increase any adverse reaction later. Try to come to terms with the incident taking place and understand that you were not responsible as a child.
Seek Support
In taking those first steps in dealing with childhood trauma, it’s important to reach out for support from a trusted loved one. You might find it difficult at first, but speaking with a loved one can help you to relieve the burden of your feelings. Try to work alongside your loved ones to find a specialist who can take you further along the recovery process and help you reclaim your adult life. Many therapists specialize in working with adults who have experienced trauma during childhood.
Replace Bad Habits
As a result of your childhood trauma, you might have taken on bad habits. Often, adults trying to mitigate the impact of childhood trauma turn to drugs or alcohol, which then causes significant health issues. It’s important in addressing childhood trauma to work to replace bad habits with good ones. This can be accomplished by speaking with a therapist about the issues and retraining your brain to limit dependency on substances.
To learn more about childhood trauma or to talk to a therapist, call or contact us today at 202-641-5335.
I really appreciate you sharing your expertise here about how to determine whether you are being affected by childhood trauma or not. One thing that really stood out to me was that if you are feeling overwhelming feelings of guilt or constant exhaustion, childhood trauma could be impacting your life at the moment. I think that if anybody were to experience something like that as a child, they should turn to some kind of counseling. Even if they are an adult now, they should look for help. Thanks again for the post, and I think that I am more able to send those who are struggling in the right direction.
My adult children have come to us to talk about the trauma (abuse ) they experienced in their childhood. They are both in their 50’s. I remember the abuse and tremble because I did not do anything to stop it. I went to our Elders of the Church for help. They advised me not to get involved;”It is important to present a united front to your children. Instead of division in the home over discipline.” This was the wrong thing to do. I realize this too late. This is a painful time in over lives and it pains me to relive it. Their stepfather is the one who abused them. Abuse that included beatings, strangulation and constant belittling. I had just come out of divorce and this was a chance to be a family. I knew he loved the children (from another marriage) because he adopted them. But, I didn’t understand why he was so abusive. Now we are faced with an painful time in our lives. There is a lot of anger.