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Childhood trauma can leave a long-lasting impression on us. Consider the things that seem to make you feel guilty, ashamed, afraid, or angry. Does it have any resemblance to a certain event or series of events that took place during your childhood?
The brain may suppress memories of early trauma as a coping mechanism. You might sense something is off throughout adulthood without understanding the reason. Memory processing and storage occurs in the brain.
It makes decisions on what to keep, delete, suppress, or repress over time. The brain may create vivid memories of situations out of stress and anxiety to safeguard you in the future. To help a person cope and move on, the brain can also repress or push traumatic memories aside.
Trauma inflicted during early childhood has a substantial link to the later onset of mental health issues, including alcoholism. Alcohol may be used by those who experience early trauma to help them deal with the symptoms of childhood trauma as adults.
There's little doubt that experiencing significant childhood trauma increases a person's lifetime risk for many issues, including mental and physical health, career, and legal.
Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults
While everyone reacts to trauma in a distinct way, here are six universal symptoms of suppressed childhood trauma in adults:
1) Consistent Struggles
Whining and tossing objects are not exactly mature behavior. Therefore, if you frequently engage in such acts, there may be underlying difficulties.
Be aware that it excludes occasional sentiments of annoyance and immature behavior. However, your continued use of childish behavior suggests that you haven't dealt with difficulties that might date back to your upbringing.
You may not have noticed the symptoms till now, as they're unconscious. For example, you go on a shopping spree even when you have a very low bank balance.
2) Reduced level of self-esteem
Low self-esteem might be difficult to spot, but it usually manifests as lack of self-worth, people-pleasing, fear of criticism, or inability to set boundaries. Together, low self-esteem, frustration, social anxiety, and distrust might develop.
Low self-esteem can also be a symptom of repressed childhood trauma, as can frustration, social anxiety, insecurity, lack of self-awareness, and lack of trust. If you experienced abuse or bullying as a youngster, whether it was from your parents or another person, you might feel that way now. Or perhaps you suffer from survivor's guilt as a result of a tragic event.
3) Acts of Self-Destructiveness
Those who experience childhood trauma may engage in binge drinking, heavy smoking, substance misuse, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts.
They appear to have developed a distorted self-image due to their poor self-esteem, which could include feelings of shame, inadequacy, and unworthiness.
4) Failure to Adapt to Change
When you're forced outside your comfort zone, stress is typical. When a shift consistently results in strong, negative feelings that disrupt daily life or interpersonal interactions, it becomes problematic.
It's obvious that change needs to be managed. Of course, it's ideal if everyone is able to adjust to changes without suffering any consequences, but that's not realistic, especially for those who suffered trauma as a child.
Even when a change is for the better, traumatized people frequently find it extremely difficult and unpleasant to cope with change. That's because it awakens a sense of risk. Change is dangerous and intimidating for them because of the unknown, uncertainty, and their lack of control.
5) Long-term Illness or Pain
Numerous studies on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have shown that unresolved childhood trauma can cause chronic sickness or suffering in adults. Perhaps your unresolved childhood trauma is the cause of any chronic illnesses you're currently experiencing or any unexplained suffering.
6) Situations or People Trigger you
Feeling startled in some circumstances is another indicator of repressed childhood trauma in adults. You're reminded of past events that the brain flagged as dangerous in those circumstances.
Some visuals, sounds, or scents can make you feel unsafe. That's frequently a symptom of suppressed memories resurfacing and haunting you. These impulses are recalled by the brain, which can cause strange emotions of insecurity in you. The same is true of interpersonal relationships.
Takeaway
Your childhood trauma can continue to have an unconscious impact on you if you don't deal with it. It can affect your parenting style, relationships, actions, and the way you feel and think about the world.
It's possible to recover from childhood trauma, even though complete recovery is not realistic. Although it will require time and work, it can be worthwhile.
