What happens in adulthood when we experience childhood trauma?

We often assume that since we don’t think about what happened, it shouldn’t be affecting our life. Unfortunately, all the negative memories end up getting suppressed in the subconscious mind. We tend to presume that things we experience in adulthood have nothing to do with childhood. We can postpone the trauma for a while until we can’t anymore and it can possibly show up in our lives in these forms:

Anxiety

Although there are many different causes of anxiety, early life trauma can definitely be one of them. When the feeling of stability and ability to attach to parents securely is shaken, the roots of the anxiety are seeded as well.

Think about what anxiety really is. It is one of the most primitive reactions that we have. It comes from the fight-flight-freeze trigger and temporarily helps us survive. However, when the safety and trust establishments are collapsed, it’s inevitable to live with anxiety at all times.

If you have an early life trauma and anxiety, this may not be a coincidence and the roots may be deeper than you may think.

Autoimmune Disorders

Medically speaking, autoimmune disorders are caused by the immune system attacking the body due to confusion triggered by genetics, drugs, diet, or even infections. Still, there isn’t one known cause for autoimmune disorders. From the mind-body point of view, autoimmune disorders are very common when early life trauma is present.

A research study that was published in the National Library of Medicine reported that childhood traumatic stress increased the chances of being hospitalized and diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder later on as an adult.

If you are dealing with an autoimmune disorder, diving deeper into the core issues and reasons can lead to long-term resolution.

Psychosomatic Disorders

Similar to autoimmune disorders, adults who experienced adverse childhood events are more prone to psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatic disorders can be triggered by recent events as well but if you have an early life trauma, it’s worth paying attention to. 

An article about chronic pain and childhood trauma that was published in Harvard Health summarizes this well:

“When we are threatened, our bodies have what is called a stress response, which prepares our bodies to fight or flee. However, when this response remains highly activated in a child for an extended period of time without the calming influence of a supportive parent or adult figure, toxic stress occurs and can damage crucial neural connections in the developing brain.”

This is why according to many experts, addressing trauma and pain should go hand in hand.

Weight Gain Issues

For some people, food is comfort or emotional relief, but for some others, food is a way of protection and this reality could be quite hard to recognize. When we are dealing with weight issues, we tend to look for every reason such as diet, working out, or emotional eating but early life trauma.

Especially being overweight due to early life trauma is very common among women who experience severe childhood sexual abuse. According to an article that was published in the University of Southern California (USC) School of Social Work, weight gain can be a form of defense mechanism. 

The author of the article concludes that “Excess stress can lead to the release of proinflammatory cytokines, which prevent insulin from being taken up by the muscle cells and can lead to weight gain.”

Sudden Flashbacks

Usually, we tend to suppress hard-to-deal-with emotions in the subconscious mind because they are overwhelming and difficult to deal with in the busy daily life. However, when we are relaxed and calm, the memories and emotions can start floating and flashbacks of some scenes start to appear.

Dreams, flashbacks during calmer states such as meditation or hypnosis, or flashbacks randomly throughout the day are very common signs of early life trauma. Most likely, these will be small flashbacks that lead to uncomfortable feelings. However, it will be hard to make up a whole story just based on these flashbacks.

These flashbacks can lead to more curiosity and eventually can make you more aware of your past.

Final Words

Common signs of early life trauma may not apply to you. You may be experiencing totally different challenges due to childhood trauma. If you’ve dealt with adverse childhood events, don’t go through this process alone. Reach out to a professional and make sure to get the necessary support to help you heal and progress in your life as a whole