Early life trauma can stem from physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, loss of a loved one, bullying, witnessing violence, or from involvement in a serious accident, injury, natural disaster, terrorism or war. It can also result from growing up in a chronically dysfunctional home, where emotional neglect and indifference are the norm, and healthy attachments are never formed...and this is just the short list.
The list of acute responses to a traumatic event are long and often last into adulthood, creating a set-up for a life that is emotionally painful and difficult for the victim to achieve full potential:
Irritability hostility
Depressive Symptoms
Mood Swings, emotional instability
Anxiety (e.g., panic attacks, specific phobia, generalized anxiety)
Fear or traumatic reoccurrence
Grief reaction
Shame
Feeling vulnerable and fragile
Emotional detachment, unwilling to engage in discussion regarding emotions
Crying
Peritraumatic Disassociation: A form of psychological escape during or just after the event.
Adjustment Reaction Disorder (clinically significant depressive symptoms and/or intrusive anxiety symptoms in the wake of a distressing event. Symptoms usually resolve within 6 months.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The life trajectory of chronically traumatized persons will veer from the hopes and dreams they once possessed, as their life becomes increasingly and pathologically organized around the event(s), the aggressor(s) or alleviating the emotional pain that lingers like a frightening shadow.
Effects on Neurodevelopment
The fact that traumatic life experiences are predictive of mental illness and substance abuse is not surprising. What is surprising is the extent of neuroadaptive changes in the brains of traumatized children and teens.
Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Research
Two recent studies showed that experiencing childhood trauma is common among people undergoing addiction treatment as adults.
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