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Childhood trauma refers to childhood experiences that negatively affect an individual’s emotional, physical, or mental health. Without addressing these experiences, unresolved trauma can lead to long-term mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
This article explores the sources of childhood trauma, how to know when it’s time to seek help, and what to look for in a therapist.
Understanding Childhood Trauma
Many people have traumatic experiences growing up. This trauma comes in many forms, from the death of a parent or exposure to life-threatening natural disasters to abuse or exploitation. Particularly for those with a history of trauma, it’s important to understand how unresolved experiences can affect the individual long-term.
What Is Childhood Trauma?
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network lists 12 common types of childhood trauma. These include:
- Bullying. The term refers to the intentional and unsolicited act of inflicting harm on someone less powerful, especially children.
- Community violence. Children who witness intentional violence in the community can be affected by this type of trauma.
- Complex trauma. This refers to both the child’s exposure to more than one traumatic event and the long-term and wide-ranging effects from the trauma.
- Disasters. Early experiences with hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, wildfires and other extreme weather events impact the individual’s sense of safety and security.
- Early childhood trauma. These traumatic experiences occur in children from the ages of birth to 6 years.
- Intimate partner violence. A child may witness harm inflicted on a parent by another parent or partner (intimate partner or domestic violence).
- Medical trauma. Medical procedures and illnesses that a child experiences may result in physiological and psychological trauma.
- Physical abuse. This includes a parent or other caregiver slapping, kicking, hitting, or neglecting a child.
- Refugee trauma. Being displaced from a home or country and forced to flee to unfamiliar areas can cause tremendous emotional uncertainty in a child.
- Sexual abuse. This trauma is perpetrated by an adult or a person older than the child. It is for the pleasure or benefit (sometimes financial) of the adult.
- Terrorism and violence. Shootings, bombings and other types of violence can have lasting negative effects.
- Traumatic grief. This occurs when someone close to the child dies, such as a parent or sibling.
How Trauma Affects the Brain and Body
Childhood trauma can have a significant long-term impact on the individual’s brain and body. According to a 2023 study, this exposure causes significant changes in the brain, impacting everything from its structure and how it processes new information to immune systems and personality development.
In response to trauma, the individual may develop mental health issues such as depression and PTSD, and they might maintain high levels of cortisol and adrenaline. This causes them to live in a state of chronic stress. Trauma survivors often experience chronic pain and digestive issues, which can contribute to their nervous system function and pain perception.
Trauma can also lead to long-term emotional dysregulation. The individual may have intense mood swings and difficulty controlling anger, or they may have ongoing feelings of numbness or detachment. This can make it difficult for them to form relationships.
Common Myths About Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma is often misunderstood. Because children often don’t have the language available to them to express how they feel about an incident or situation, the adults in their lives may overestimate their resilience. This can fuel myths about childhood trauma.
Myth: Only severe abuse or neglect count as trauma.
Trauma can stem from a wide range of experiences, from being displaced due to violence or extreme poverty to bullying or losing a close family member.
Myth: Only children from dysfunctional families experience trauma.
Trauma can happen to any child, regardless of their level of family support or socioeconomic status.
Myth: Trauma is always visible.
Trauma can often be masked. Even children who appear to be doing well or adults who seem to cope despite early traumatic experiences may have internal struggles.
Myth: Time heals all wounds.
While time can dull the pain and confusion of early experiences, the impact of unresolved trauma can last a lifetime.
Signs That You May Need Therapy for Childhood Trauma
No matter how long ago the trauma occurred, it’s never too late to benefit from professional help. Some signs that you may need therapy for childhood trauma include:
- Persistent emotional symptoms, including mood swings or difficulty regulating feelings of anger
- Mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression
- Ongoing feelings of guilt, shame or low self-esteem
- Difficulty maintaining relationships
- Self-destructive habits, such as substance use or risk-seeking behaviors
- Chronic pain, fatigue, or muscle tension
- Ongoing digestive issues or unexplained illnesses
- Sudden emotional reactions to certain situations, places, or people
- Recurring intrusive thoughts or nightmares
The Benefits of Seeing a Therapist
For those who’ve experienced trauma during childhood, addressing the ongoing physical, psychological, and emotional effects can be life-changing. While education and self-help strategies play an important role in the healing process, seeing a therapist is vital for learning to cope.
Emotional Processing and Healing
During therapy for unresolved childhood trauma, therapists help individuals put their experiences into the correct context. This may include helping the individual recognize that they were not responsible for an adult’s behavior or realize that they were not accountable for their family’s safety in dangerous circumstances. This process helps the individual reframe their experiences, alleviating feelings of fear and fostering a healthier sense of self.
Developing Coping Strategies
Years or even decades after the trauma occurs, individuals often experience anxiety, anger, and emotional dysregulation. During therapy, they learn helpful strategies for dealing with strong emotions. This lets them regain control over their emotional responses, build healthier relationships, and improve their overall well-being.
Improving Relationships and Communication
Because trauma can affect how the brain perceives potential threats, many people who’ve experienced trauma in childhood have difficulty maintaining relationships. Therapy can help them overcome unhealthy attachment issues and trust problems.
Enhancing Overall Well-being
Going to therapy can help individuals understand and process traumatic experiences, leading to greater self-awareness of how these experiences shape their personality, strengths, thoughts, and behaviors. Be developing strategies for dealing with strong emotions, building healthy relationships, and overcoming the lingering psychological effects of trauma, individuals can strengthen their emotional resilience.
Types of Therapy for Childhood Trauma
Together with the trained and certified trauma therapist, determine which types of therapies are best suited to learning how to heal from childhood trauma. Several therapies may be helpful, including:
- Trauma-focused CBT, or cognitive processing therapy
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Exposure therapy, or prolonged exposure therapy
- Somatic experiencing
How to Know When It’s Time to Seek Help
When childhood trauma impacts an individual’s ability to lead a healthy, happy, and productive life, it’s important to seek help.
Self-Assessment Questions
An honest self-assessment can help an individual determine whether professional help is right for them. This includes questions such as:
- Do I frequently experience overwhelming feelings that I struggle to manage?
- Do I have symptoms of anxiety, depression, or PTSD?
- Do I avoid certain people, places, or situations connected to a traumatic event?
- Do I have recurring nightmares or intrusive thoughts?
- Do I feel numb and disconnected?
- Do I experience difficulties concentrating, or do I have memory lapses?
- Have I tried coping on my own without success?
Signs That Trauma Is Interfering with Daily Life
The experience of childhood trauma can last long after the individual enters adulthood. Researchers studying the long-term effects of childhood trauma point to problems with depression and anxiety stemming from the trauma. Adults who don’t know how to heal from childhood trauma may turn to alcohol or drugs to help numb the painful memories. This can lead to substance abuse and mental health disorders that require professional treatment to overcome.
Other manifestations of childhood trauma in adulthood include difficulties with social interaction, multiple health problems, low self-esteem, and a lack of direction. Adults with unresolved childhood trauma are also more prone to PTSD, suicide, and self-harm.
Finding the Right Therapist
For someone seeking therapy for childhood trauma, it’s important to find a professional who specializes in this area. If possible, connect with a local therapist who can offer trauma-informed counseling, trauma treatment, and therapies. Look for therapists who carry certifications such as trauma-informed CBT certification, certified clinical trauma professional, child trauma certification, or certification from the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists.
The effects of childhood trauma can linger for years or decades after the danger has passed, impacting the individual’s physical, psychological, and mental health. Regardless of the nature of the trauma or how long ago it occurred, it’s never too late to benefit from professional help.
Find help to overcome childhood trauma by contacting our experts at FHE Health. We’re here to assist in how to heal from childhood trauma and how to get back to living the life you deserve.
