Understanding the Impact of childhood Trauma on Adults

Even though trauma occurred in childhood that does not mean that it remains in the past. It has a way of showing up in our adult lives. One way of thinking about trauma is that it is, “the past intruding upon the present.”

 There are different types of trauma. Some are developmental traumas such as abandonment, betrayal and disempowerment. These leave often a more subtle impact on the person’s adult life where they may struggle with attachment figures, trust and believing in themselves. The impact of long-gone caregivers has left their mark on these people’s capacity to feel loved, close to and cared for by others.

Other kinds of traumas we associate with what is commonly thought of as traumas.
Things like physical and sexual abuse. Having alcoholic or drug addicted parents and other kinds of chaotic households.

Most of us can function well enough until one too many stressors show up and we have a hard time calming ourselves. People with childhood trauma really struggle with how to sooth and calm themselves. For that reason, they may be more likely to self-medicate with alcohol, drugs or other substances to keep unwelcome feelings and stresses at bay. That may be a good beginning point to understand adults who deal with addiction are not bad people but people that do not have the tools to calm themselves and care for the scared inner parts of themselves.

Their childhood traumas affect the brain functioning and how they respond to stress. In fact, they may respond to various situations like they are their traumas repeating themselves. They can disassociate, meaning they leave their bodies and go to an unconscious place and get triggered by every day events that make them feel like they are back in the past again.

Examples of being triggered can include hearing a car backfire, which to a military veteran can feel like an enemy attack has started to hearing a raised voice which may feel like a physical attack is about to occur. These are examples of “the past intruding on the present.” The triggering event makes a connection in their brain and they respond with a “fight, flight or freeze” response.

Some survivors of childhood abuse respond by becoming aggressive and escalating a situation. That is their fight response. Others may run away physically, and others run away by shutting down their emotions, thinking and become withdrawn. That is their way of running away called dissociation.

These are some examples of the ways that childhood trauma shows up in adults. These are adults who can often be quite functional, rational people. Then a switch gets activated which activates a part of the brain called the amygdala. This is the “smoke detector” of the brain and once it is activated, they are no longer able to respond in a calm or thoughtful way. They will become agitated, aggressive, shut down or running away from a perceived threat. 

These people can benefit greatly from the right kind of therapy techniques that include EMDR, (eye movement desensitization and processing), psychodrama, yoga, martial arts and meditation. You can search for a professional who has specialized training in working with trauma survivors.

The use of yoga and other body-based techniques are effective ways to help the person to become more present to themselves and their emotions after trauma.

It is a long journey back from childhood trauma and there are many different techniques and therapies available to help.

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