Have you ever thought about why some situations make you anxious for no reason, or why you have trust issues that don't seem to have an obvious cause? Your past may hold the key to the answer. Trauma from childhood can leave invisible scars on adults that can affect their behavior, relationships, and mental health for decades. These concealed psychological traumas frequently remain unacknowledged, impacting millions who may be unaware that their present difficulties originate from past experiences.
The first step to getting better is to understand how trauma from childhood shows up in adulthood. At Orange Coast Psychiatry, we've seen many folks figure out how their prior experiences are affecting their current problems. This epiphany is generally the time at which they start to get well and feel better emotionally.
What is trauma in childhood, and how does it affect adults?
Childhood trauma includes a number of events that are too much for a child to handle. These events may encompass physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental substance abuse, or experiencing natural disasters. The brain of a child interprets these events in a different way than an adult brain would, leaving lasting marks that affect how they act and feel in the future.
The effects of childhood trauma in adults go well beyond memory. Trauma actually alters how the brain works and how it looks, especially in areas that control stress response, emotional regulation, and memory processing. The amygdala, which governs how we respond to fear, often works too hard, while the prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of making decisions and thinking logically, may not work as well.
Studies indicate that individuals who endured childhood trauma are at an elevated risk for depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance addiction, and relational challenges. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, one of the largest of its kind, found a clear link between trauma in childhood and health problems in adults, such as mental health concerns and long-term illnesses.
Identifying the Symptoms of Childhood Trauma in Adults
A lot of adults carry the weight of trauma from their childhood without realizing that their prior experiences are affecting their current problems. Adults who have been traumatized as children may show signs of this trauma in several ways, for as through personality traits or unexplainable emotional responses.
Symptoms of Emotion
Adults who have not dealt with childhood trauma often have strong emotional responses that don't appear to fit the scenario at hand. These could be:
Mood swings or emotional outbursts that happen out of the blue
Feelings of melancholy, emptiness, or hopelessness that don't go away
Long-term anxiety or panic attacks
Shame or guilt that is too much to handle
Having trouble feeling happy or good feelings
Feeling emotionally numb or cut off from other people
Physical Signs
Even when the mind attempts to forget, the body recalls trauma. Adults who have been through trauma as children may have physical signs like:
Chronic tiredness or trouble sleeping
Headaches or pain that can't be explained
Problems with digestion or eating disorders
Being hypervigilant or quickly startled
Muscle tension or long-term discomfort problems
Autoimmune diseases or being sick a lot
Patterns of Behavior
Responses to childhood trauma in adulthood frequently manifest as distinct behavioral patterns that functioned as survival tactics in childhood but become detrimental in adult relationships:
Behaviors that please other people or trouble putting limits
Not wanting to fight or argue
Sabotaging yourself in your profession or relationships
Fear of failing or wanting to be perfect
Addictive habits or drug abuse
Behaviors that are dangerous or hurtful to oneself
Understanding How Adults React to Childhood Trauma
Adults can react to things that remind them of their childhood trauma in quite different ways. Mental health specialists typically put these responses into groups that they see as adaptive methods that used to keep people safe but now make things harder.
Response to Fight
Some individuals get angry or aggressive when they think they are in danger. This could show up as:
Anger that comes on quickly or suddenly
Controlling behavior in partnerships
Hard time trusting other people
Tendency to point fingers at others for difficulties
Style of communication that is argumentative or combative
Response to Flight
Some people may respond by avoiding or getting away from situations that seem dangerous:
Hard time making commitments in relationships
Being a workaholic or always busy
Changing jobs or moving around a lot
Not getting emotionally close
Putting things off or having trouble finishing duties
Response to Freeze
When you feel stress, the freeze response makes you stop moving:
Feeling trapped or like you can't make a choice
Dissociation or feeling like you're not in the real world
Struggling to say what you need or how you feel
Feeling like basic activities are too much for you
Isolation or disengagement from social situations
Response to Fawn
To prevent conflict, this answer means striving to make other people happy:
Too much trying to please others
Struggling to say no to demands
Taking charge of how other people feel
Fear of being left alone or turned down
Always saying sorry or blaming yourself
Signs of trauma from childhood in adults: More than the Obvious
Some indications of childhood trauma in adults are obviously linked to traumatic events, while others are more subtle and might not be identified as trauma-related right away. These hidden indications can have a big impact on how well you live your life and how well you operate every day.
Problems in Relationships
Adults who have been through trauma as children often have trouble with:
Trouble making safe connections
Fear of being left alone and fear of becoming close to someone
Patterns that lead to dysfunctional relationships
Not being able to trust friends or partners
Problems in communication or avoiding confrontation
A tendency to reproduce undesirable patterns that are familiar
How you see yourself Problems
Trauma in childhood can have a big effect on how adults see themselves:
Low self-esteem or negative self-talk
Feeling like a fraud or having imposter syndrome
Having trouble accepting praise or success
Perfectionism hiding profound feelings of insecurity
Problems with body image or self-harm habits
Feeling like something is wrong with you or that you're not like everyone else
Patterns of Thinking
Trauma can change how you think and how your brain works:
Trouble focusing or remembering things
Hypervigilance or always looking for danger
Thinking negatively or catastrophically
Struggling to make decisions or trust your own judgment
Having trouble managing your time or organizing your life Feeling like you have too much to do every day
The Way to Healing: Therapy for Adults Who Were Traumatized as Kids
With the correct help and treatment, it is not only possible but likely that a person may recover from trauma they experienced as a child. Therapy for childhood trauma in adults has advanced considerably, providing evidence-based interventions that target both the psychological and physiological effects of trauma.
Therapeutic Approaches Based on Trauma
Modern trauma therapy understands that recovery needs to involve the complete person, not just the symptoms. Some good ways to do this are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Adults can use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to figure out and change unpleasant thoughts and actions that come from trauma. This method works especially well for dealing with anxiety, depression, and actions that hurt oneself.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Employs bilateral stimulation to enhance the brain's processing of painful memories, thereby diminishing their emotional impact.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Teaches people how to control their emotions, deal with stress, and get along with others. This is especially helpful for adults who have been through a lot of trauma.
Somatic Experiencing: Concentrates on liberating trapped trauma energy from the body, tackling the physical dimensions of trauma responses.
The Process of Healing
Getting over trauma from childhood is rarely a straight line. There are a few crucial steps to it:
Safety and Stabilization: Making people feel safe and stable while they learn how to deal with their problems.
Putting things together and processing them: Dealing with painful memories and how they affect you
Connection and Growth: Making good relationships and feeling good about yourself
Orange Coast Psychiatry: Your Partner in Getting Better
We know that it takes a lot of courage to get assistance for childhood trauma at Orange Coast Psychiatry. Our team of caring mental health specialists specializes in trauma-informed care because they know that everyone heals in their own way.
Our all-around way of helping adults who have experienced childhood trauma includes:
Individual therapy utilizing evidence-based trauma interventions
Group therapy for support from peers and healing together
Managing medications when necessary
Family therapy to work on how people get along with each other
Specialized programs for certain trauma-related problems
We think that healing happens when people are in safe, supportive relationships. Our therapists make it possible for you to talk about your experiences without being judged, learn new ways to deal with problems, and construct the life you want.
We offer more than just regular therapy sessions. Here is what we offer:
Help with emergencies and crisis situations
Working together with other healthcare providers
Workshops and support groups for learning
Teletherapy alternatives for easier access
Culturally sensitive methods of therapy
Taking the First Step Toward Getting Better
If you see yourself in the signs and symptoms above, realize that you're not alone and that you can get well. Your childhood trauma doesn't have to shape your adult life. With the right help and treatment, you can: Learn how to deal with things in a healthy way
Make relationships that are safe and satisfying.
Lower anxiety, despair, and other signs
Boost your self-esteem and self-compassion.
Make the life you want to live.
Getting over childhood trauma is a long process that needs professional help. Being aware of yourself is a good beginning step, but working with qualified trauma specialists makes sure you have the tools and support you need to fully recover.
Moving On: Your Path to Health
It's just the beginning to understand how trauma in childhood affects adults. You can really heal when you get professional help to deal with these underlying scars. The indicators of childhood trauma in adults, the symptoms of childhood trauma in adults, and the different ways adults deal with childhood trauma all point to the same truth: your previous experiences important, but they don't have to govern your future.
You can get better. Adults who have had traumatic experiences as children can learn to deal with triggers, make healthy connections, and construct a life full of meaning and happiness with the right therapy. Childhood trauma may have left you with mental scars that are still there today, but they don't have to decide what happens next.
Visit our website and read our full blog post, "The Hidden Mental Scars of Childhood Trauma in Adults," to learn more about childhood trauma and our unique therapy methods. We have more information about our programs, self-assessment tools, and other resources on our website to help you heal.
Call Orange Coast Psychiatry today if you're ready to start your healing journey. Our caring staff is here to help you every step of the way, turning the agony of your past into the strength you need for your future.
