Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma: Rediscovering Meaning
Experiencing trauma as a child may have prevented you from enjoying your youth and interfered with the quality of your life. A traumatic experience is difficult to process as an adult, it can be even more difficult for children. For some, their trauma may have been a one-time event, however, for many these events are ongoing. It can be difficult to process these experiences and begin to move forward. Therapy can help.
How to Recognize Childhood Trauma
Emotional trauma can be caused when you experience an event that impacts your sense of confidence and safety, potentially leaving you feeling vulnerable and helpless. These events are often associated with a threat to life, but they can be anything that happens abruptly or repeatedly, leaving you feeling defenseless.
A child can be emotionally traumatized by a single event, such as an accident, a natural disaster, or a loss, or by an ongoing series of events, such as deliberate abuse, cruelty or even exposure to intrusive medical procedures. Trauma can be caused by anything that brings extreme fear, grief, or pain, such as separation from a parent, bullying in school, a chronic medical condition, domestic abuse, or neglect. Children are particularly at risk when they are already under stress.
When to Take Action
When you were a child, you may not have experienced symptoms after a traumatic experience right. This is rather common. You may have reacted to events in different ways than others; it is difficult to identify what is a “normal” reaction to such abnormal events.
Your symptoms after experiencing a childhood trauma can be emotional or physical. Emotional symptoms often reported after such an experience include denial, anger/irritability, sadness, hopelessness, confusion, self-blame, guilt and/or shame, excessive fears and anxiety, social withdrawal, and feeling disconnected. Some of the physical symptoms to watch out for are insomnia, nightmares, lethargy, muscle tension, agitation, physical aches and pains, being startled easily, and fast heartbeat.
Can Counseling Help to Process Childhood Trauma?
Living with traumatic memories can be painful and terrifying; it can take you back through the experience again and again. Addressing your trauma can be important, and it’s never too late to do something about it. You can find independently contracted therapists that can help through Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC.
If you are having difficulty connecting with people, you feel emotionally and physically unwell, or you have developed intrusive symptoms because of your traumatic childhood, there are ways to improve how you feel about yourself and your perception of life. Call Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC to schedule an appointment.
PO BOX 9909 Fayetteville, NC 28311