Childhood trauma includes exposure to traumatic events as well as physical and emotional abuse. These traumatic events can also be indirect, including children witnessing acts of violence or even natural disasters, and can lead to some of these 17 signs that someone suffered severe childhood trauma.
Hypervigilance
When a person has suffered severe trauma, they may always seem on edge, constantly looking for potential threats due to what they had to deal with in their past. This constant hypervigilance makes it hard for the person to relax in normal, safe environments.
Flashbacks and nightmares
A flashback is an involuntary memory that seems very real. People who have experienced severe trauma may suffer from flashbacks as a symptom of PTSD, similar to the disturbing and unsettling memories that plague veterans of war. Victims of childhood abuse or trauma may also have nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and disturbed sleep.
Suicidal ideations
The increased risk of suicidal thoughts in people with unresolved childhood trauma stems from the anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts that are also linked to that trauma. An article from BMC Psychiatry tells us that childhood trauma is linked to suicidal ideation and highlights the necessity of recognizing and addressing suicidal ideation as well as the contributing factors.
Constantly apologizing
The need to avoid conflict, low self-esteem, and people-pleasing behavior are all common signs that someone has experienced trauma. These behaviors can cause people to feel the need to apologize constantly. They will say sorry even if they are not at fault or they don’t know what they’re apologizing for.
Chronic pain
Our bodies go through a stress response when we feel threatened, preparing us for either fight or flight. However, this can lead to toxic stress in children when they feel constantly under threat. This stress can damage neural connections in the developing brain. In adulthood, this damage can result in chronic pain and illness.
Anxiety disorders
Emotional regulation becomes increasingly challenging after childhood trauma. This is due to altered brain chemistry that results from the body’s constant stress response throughout a traumatic childhood. It can become difficult to handle the stresses of daily life, which increases the risk of anxiety and panic attacks.
Self-harm
Some trauma survivors try to deal with the intense emotional and psychological agony they are experiencing by self-mutilating, including cutting, biting, burning, and pinching themselves. According to Psych Central, “some research shows that during cutting or self-mutilation, the brain releases natural opioids that provide a temporary experience or sense of calm and peace that many find soothing”.
Fear of intimacy
A history of trauma can lead to difficulties trusting others, impacting the ability to form close relationships. Childhood trauma alters a person’s ability to form relationships, as it may instill feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, leading them to unhealthy relationships with the wrong people. Others may completely avoid relationships and close friendships.
Dissociation
Dissociative episodes can result in memory loss and difficulty focusing. When someone is experiencing a dissociative episode, they may seem, and feel, disconnected from reality or themselves and may have the sensation of watching their own body from outside of themselves. These episodes might last for a few minutes or several hours.
Extreme mood swings
Trauma survivors may experience sudden and intense emotional responses that seem disproportionate to the situation they are in. They may swiftly change from being calm and collected to becoming afraid or angry over something that doesn’t seem like it should affect them that much. These difficulties in regulating emotions can often lead to strained relationships.
Psychosomatic pain
A lifetime of extreme stress or psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, or varying degrees of stress, can cause psychosomatic pain. This gives physical symptoms without a clear medical cause, such as fatigue, stomachaches, or headaches. It is important to undergo thorough medical evaluations to rule out physical causes so one can deal with the psychological origins.
Sleep disturbances
Sleep issues like insomnia are prevalent among those who have experienced childhood trauma. According to Medical News Today, people who experience childhood trauma have a higher risk of sleep disturbance, heart disease, liver disease, and other medical issues. Broader negative effects of sleep disturbances include cognitive impairment and poor physical health.
Substance abuse
Trauma in childhood may lead to the misuse of substances in teenagers and adults. As a way to self-medicate, a person might use alcohol or drugs to help them cope with the pain of their trauma. This can lead to an increased risk of addiction in trauma survivors who engage in substance abuse.
Aggressive behavior and irritability
Trauma survivors frequently act out their emotions because they are unable to express them verbally. Mood swings and irritability, as well as the after-effects of years of stress, cause sadness, mania, rage, and anxiety, meaning that some trauma survivors may have difficulty controlling their temper, resulting in aggressive outbursts.
Eating disorders
Childhood trauma can lead to eating disorders in adolescence and adulthood as survivors attempt to exert control over at least one aspect of their lives. Trauma can manifest as emotional eating or food aversion, two common reactions to unresolved emotional issues.
Controlling behavior
If a person has endured a childhood of trauma, they can develop a need to control environments and situations, which stems from the chaos experienced during these traumatic events. The lack of control that these people have in childhood makes them feel so powerless that it sets in motion an overwhelming urge to exert control at every turn, according to Psychology Today.
Low self-esteem
Suffering abuse of any kind in childhood will make a child feel worthless and unloved. This trauma can lead to deep-seated feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy throughout their lives. The low self-esteem that occurs from this can affect decision-making and opportunities in life.
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