How childhood trauma can shape adulthood: Understanding to heal.
Traumas definition
Traumas are more complex than emotions running high, as traumatic events are extremely upsetting and can significantly affect our mental and physical health. Traumas are defined as emotional or psychological wounds brought on by upsetting situations that are beyond a person's coping capacity. They may express themselves as physical, mental, or emotional distress. They can come from a variety of things, from inherited traits to early childhood formative experiences.
Traumas Stored and Symptoms:
Here are the 4 most commun traumas types and where they are stored in the body. Also have a look at our article on Emotions, what they signal and where they are help for more insight.
Emotional traumas: Traumas stored emotionally might cause feelings of melancholy, grief, dissociation or emotional numbness as well as physical heart pain or ache.
Physical traumas: Pain, tension, or limited movement caused by holding in certain bodily regions associated to the injury or physical impact.
Sexual traumas: These memories are kept in the sacral region and might cause sexual dysfunction, feeling of guilt, unworthiness or humiliation as well as traumatic memory/ amnesia.
Traumas psychological: These mental scars can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression as well as other mental health related issues including eating-disorders, body dysmorphia and dissociation.
Other types of Traumas:
Generational Traumas: These traumas might be of a systemic, historical or cultural nature and are passed down through family lines. Traumatic experiences during childhood, such as abuse, neglect, violence, can also be partly caused because of untreated generational traumas: The family dynamic, vicious cycle and destructive patterns haven’t been acknowledge and can be consciously or unconsciously perpetuated.
Traumas related to abandonment: Important to note that a parent can be physically present yet emotionally unavailable therefore making the child feel they cannot rely on their parents or are being abondoned. These are felt in the root and heart chakras and can cause issues with trust, intimacy, and fear of being rejected.
Accidental Trauma: Result from unexpected events such as car accidents, natural disasters, or severe injuries.These include serious injuries and tragic accidents that left feelings of fear, vulnerability, dread, and lack of control.
Medical traumas: They are caused by invasive medical procedures, chronic illness, persistent disease, or life-threatening disorders, and they can cause anxiety, a fear of being in a hospital, and a lack of confidence in healthcare professionals.
Combat Traumas: Military people who have been exposed to combat conditions may suffer from battle traumas, which can lead to PTSD, hypervigilance, and emotional numbness.
Betrayal Traumas: Arise from broken trust, such as infidelity, dishonesty, deception or personal betrayal. These traumas can trigger feelings of anger, betrayal and difficulty forming new relationships or leading to isolation.
Cultural traumas: Associated with the collective experiences of a group, such as genocide, slavery, or war, which can cause intergenerational trauma, a sense of loss, a loss of cultural identity, or identity difficulties.
Traumas can be tangled like a web, layered and connected. Throughout our lives, we frequently go through a number of traumas and these events can have a significant impact. Every traumatic event has the potential to leave its mark, generating intricate patterns that interact and have an impact on one another. Our responses to the environment around us are like a tapestry made of our feelings, memories and beliefs. These multiple traumas can be difficult to untangle and face but doing so is necessary for healing and progress. We can start to untangle the tangles and find a way to healing and resilience by identifying and comprehending the interconnectivity of our experiences. It's a courageous and self-discovering journey that opens the door to a better and more confident future.
Unresolved Childhood traumas and Their Effects
Unprocessed traumas can have significant negative impacts on the body and mind. Trauma can be stored by the body as tension, pain, or physical symptoms in certain places. Chronic stress response activation can cause physical symptoms like headaches, intestinal problems, or chronic discomfort. Traumas can have a serious negative effect on mental health as well, increasing the risk of diseases like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and depression. Hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviours, panic attacks, chronic depression, loss of interest, and difficulties focusing are just a few symptoms that may appear.
Emotional and psychological impact: Childhood trauma can impact the mind and cause emotional problems like anxiety, despair, low self-esteem and trouble controlling emotions. In maturity, patterns of fear, guilt, or mistrust may appear as a result of emotional scars from childhood.
Relationship patterns: Trauma can affect a person's capacity to establish and keep wholesome relationships. It may result in issues with intimacy, boundaries, and trust, making it difficult to forge and maintain lasting relationships with others.
Identity and self-perception: Traumatic events can have a significant impact on a person's identity and self-perception. They could start to believe things they shouldn't, feeling like they don't deserve love and happiness. This may obstruct personal development and fulfilment.
Coping mechanism: People may develop coping strategies including avoidance, dissociation, or substance misuse in order to endure the trauma. These tactics, which were once useful, can turn into maladaptive ones in maturity and prevent healthy coping.
Health repercussions: Adult physical health problems, such as chronic pain, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular concerns, have been related to childhood trauma. The long-term effects of trauma on the body might show up as physical symptoms and add to problems with general health.
Unresolved traumas from childhood can shape our adult lives and emotional trajectory. Understanding the many trauma types, how they can be stored in the body until processed, and their symptoms is essential for directing the healing process. Remember to seek professional guidance or support when working through trauma to ensure a safe and supportive healing process.
Children & Traumatising parents
Due to a multitude of reasons, including their own unresolved traumas, stress and difficult life situations, parents may unwittingly traumatise their kids. It is important to remember that not all parents purposefully traumatise their kids; on the contrary, many parents work hard to give their kids a secure and supportive environment. Several factors can cause parents to traumatise their children, including:
Parents who have personally suffered trauma may unintentionally reflect their own unresolved difficulties onto their children. Inability to build healthy relationships with their children and emotional dysregulation due to untreated trauma are all risks.
Inter-generational trauma is a trauma can be handed down through generations, and unresolved trauma from earlier generations can have an impact on a parent's parenting style and emotional availability. Children's exposure to trauma might be facilitated by unconscious patterns and behaviours that they have inherited from their ancestors.
High-stress environment : Parents who are experiencing significant levels of stress, such as monetary hardships, marital conflicts, or persistent health problems, may find it difficult to give their kids a secure and caring atmosphere. Their parenting style and level of emotional availability may be affected by this ongoing stress, which may result in trauma.
Substance addiction or mental health problems: Children of parents who battle these issues may unintentionally get traumatised owing to their unpredictable behaviour, neglect, or exposure to dangerous settings. The ability of a parent to offer dependable care and support may be compromised by these issues as well as how drugs interfere with their brain chemistry and overall health.
Parenting challenges: Some parents may be incompetent or have excessive expectations, which can result in situations where children are subjected to verbal, physical, or emotional abuse. These difficult parent-child interactions may add to children's traumatization.
Understanding the causes of unintentional trauma, however, can help foster awareness, empathy, and support for both parents and kids who have experienced trauma. In order to confront and recover from the impacts of trauma, it might be helpful to seek treatment, support groups, and educational resources.
Therapies & Healing Traumas:
Hypnotherapy, EMDR, somatic experience, and inner child work are just a few of the therapeutic modalities that provide strong tools to access and process unconscious traumas, release constrained emotions, and promote emotional and physical healing. Working with a qualified, licenced therapist with experience in trauma treatment is essential to ensuring a secure and encouraging atmosphere throughout the healing process.
Talk therapy: The process of processing and integrating traumatic events through psychotherapy or counselling. Therapy, counseling, and holistic healing practices can provide valuable support in the healing process. These approaches aim to address the root causes of trauma, help individuals process their emotions and develop coping mechanisms. It is essential to work with qualified professionals who specialise in trauma to guide and support your healing journey.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): addressing traumatically-related negative cognitive patterns and behaviours.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): This technique involves processing traumatic memories using eye movements or other bilateral stimulation to lessens the emotional pain brought on by them.
Somatic Experiencing:Focusing on physical sensations to release trauma energy is known as somatic experiencing. Individuals can progressively unlock and release trauma-related memories and feelings through gentle touch, movement, and mindfulness.
Energy work: Reiki, acupuncture, or other energy-based therapies can be used to reestablish energetic balance.
Mindfulness and Meditation: Developing present-moment awareness and self-regulation skills that can help your nervous system calming down.
Art Therapy: Art therapy is the process of expressing emotions via artistic endeavours like writing, music, or painting.
Body-Based Therapies: Massage, yoga, or somatic movement practices to release tension and reconnect with the body especially if the traumas is physical.
Breathwork: Using particular breathing methods to help the body release trauma.
It is important to note that healing is not a linear path with a fixed timeline but rather a gradual and ongoing process so be patient with yourself.
Releasing Generational Traumas:
Addressing deeply rooted habits that have been passed down through generations is necessary to release generational traumas. Effective approaches include:
Family Constellations is a therapy approach that focuses on uncovering hidden loyalties and family dynamics in order to heal generational wounds and bring about systemic change. The process can highlights the importance of acknowledging and processing our childhood experiences to break the cycle or generational traumas.
Ancestral Healing Rituals: Participating in rituals or ceremonies that honour and treat ancestral traumas, enabling the release and transmutation of inherited loads.
Inner Child Work: The process of re-parenting the injured inner child in order to identify and resolve habits or ideas that have been passed down from past generations, involves connecting with and healing the wounded inner child within us. Through various therapeutic techniques such as guided imagery, journaling and creative expression, individuals can access and address unresolved childhood traumas, provide comfort and validation to their inner child. This helps to understand if the decisions we are taking as adult are coming from a place of trust/ faith in the future or if we are (un)consciously following an emotional map of situation we want to avoid or are afraid to approach from fear of the past- eventually keeping us away from happiness more than it does keeps us away from uncomfortable situations.
It is crucial to approach healing with patience, self-compassion and understanding that everyone's journey is unique.
Traumas & Chakras: Healing the Body and Mind
Traumas can affect multiple chakras simultaneously, and their manifestation may vary from person to person. For example, sexual traumas can impact the sacral chakra, heart chakra and throat chakra.
Healing trauma associated with the chakras requires a holistic approach that integrates therapy, energy work, self-reflection, and various healing modalities to restore balance and promote healing at all levels. Our different Chakra course can help you address your traumas and remove blockages related to it according to where they are stored in your body.
How long does it take to heal childhood traumas?
The healing journey from childhood traumas is a deeply personal and individual process that varies from person to person: For some individuals, healing from childhood traumas may take months, while for others it may extend over several years. The duration of healing can depend on various factors, including the nature, severity or complexity of the trauma, the depth of emotional wounds ot the individual's resilience, their support system and the therapeutic approaches utilised to heal them.
The goal is not to completely erase the impact of childhood traumas but to cultivate resilience, develop healthy coping mechanisms to create a fulfilling and meaningful life beyond the past; Healing requires a commitment to self-exploration, self-compassion and a willingness to confront and integrate the painful experiences of the past. As healing progresses, you may experience significant shifts in your emotional well-being, life outlook , improved self-esteem, healthier relationships and inner peace: Healing childhood traumas involves not only resolving past wounds but also nurturing self-care at the present.
Remember that each individual's journey is unique and that healing is a continuous process. With dedication, support and a holistic approach to healing, individuals can embark on a transformative journey and reclaim their lives from the grip of childhood traumas.
Disclaimer: This article is meant for informative purposes only and should not be used in place of seeking the counsel of a qualified healthcare provider.