Can My Childhood Trauma Affect Me as an Adult?
Can My Childhood Trauma Affect Me as an Adult?
Have you ever had the nagging feeling your childhood trauma could be holding you back as an adult? Perhaps you’ve discounted such thoughts in the past thinking they were silly or figured you were reading too much into things.
The reality is these events can have a significant impact on you as an adult. But perhaps first it would help to define childhood trauma. The National Institute of Mental Health describes childhood trauma as, “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.”
The list of possible childhood traumas is quite broad and also is child-specific. One child may be more badly affected by the same negative event than another. For one child, that same event could lead to a child-trauma reaction. For the other, it could simply result in a negative life event that, in time, can be overcome.
What Are Some Examples of Childhood Trauma?
The first step in exploring whether your potential childhood trauma could be affecting you now is identifying if in fact, the event was a childhood trauma. Just the fact that you have at least some level of concern could be a big clue.
It’s also possible you’re going about your adult life struggling in some key areas and you’ve never given enough attention to this possibility. Here are some examples of common childhood traumas to consider:
- Emotional Abuse
- Physical Abuse
- Neglect
- Divorce of parents
- Sexual Abuse
- Loss of a loved one
- Cyberbullying or in-person bullying
- Poverty related stressors
- Serious or sudden medical condition
- Terrorism or war
- Accidents
- Violence either at home, in a school setting or in the community
- Separation from a caregiver or parent
- Dysfunction or instability at home (Examples include a parent with mental illness, experiencing incarceration, domestic violence or substance abuse)
This list is by no means exhaustive. What counts is that you experienced a difficult childhood event you feel may be having an ongoing negative impact on you. Now, that you’ve had a chance to look through examples of childhood traumas, it will be helpful to go over ways those events can present themselves in adults later in life.
Common Ways Childhood Trauma Manifests Itself in Adults
What follows are some concrete ways childhood traumas can affect you later in life. Having one or more of these struggles doesn’t necessarily mean it has been caused by your childhood trauma. Having said that, if you experienced one or more traumatic events as a child, there certainly could be a connection. Childhood trauma can affect your physical, mental and emotional health as an adult.
Physical Health Effects—Survivors of childhood traumas can experience a heightened stress response as adults. This can result in lowered immune function/more physical illnesses, struggles with regulating emotions and ongoing sleep difficulties.
Mental Health Effects—Going through childhood trauma places you at higher risk of depression, anxiety, PTSD, misuse of alcohol and drugs, relationship struggles and self-harm including suicide.
Emotional Health Effects—Adult survivors of childhood trauma often struggle more intensely with an array of difficult emotions. Some common ones include anger, hopelessness, grief, sadness, helplessness, guilt, shame, worry and anxiety.
Are You Worried You Could Be Struggling as an Adult Because of a Childhood Trauma?
If so, the Center for Neurocognitive Excellence in Washington, DC can help you work through these challenges. The first step is figuring out if there could be a connection between your childhood trauma and the challenges you currently face as an adult.
If you’re caught in negative patterns, your therapist can help you find evidence-based ways to cope with these challenges, improving your quality of life in the process. Feel free to make an appointment to get the help you need.