What does childhood trauma look like?

Childhood trauma, also called developmental trauma is typically a series of events that occur throughout childhood that lead to symptoms related to PTSD. These can be, though are not limited to:

            ~ Flashbacks                  ~ Hypervigilance

            ~ Startling easily           ~ Anxiety

            ~ Depression                  ~ Shame

            ~ Guilt                                 ~ Anger

However, what makes developmental trauma different from traditional PTSD is that there doesn’t necessarily have to be an overt and easily identifiable series of events that occur. For example, childhood trauma can look like physical or sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Unfortunately, whether any of these occurred once or over an extended period throughout childhood, they can result in trauma.

Childhood trauma can also look like having emotionally unavailable, insecure, or immature caregivers. It can mean you had a roof over your head, food on the table, and your parents went to every soccer game. However, your father was also an alcoholic and you were parentified from a young age. It can look like you self-identifying as an overachiever and perfectionist who is scapegoated in your family for any minor displays of realistic and understandable emotions.

There’s also generational trauma in which your parents and their parents and possibly beyond that, continue to, often unknowingly, pass down family wounds. Maybe your caregivers didn’t realize that showing little to no emotions towards you came from learned behaviors to protect themselves throughout their own childhoods. They didn’t intend to harm you, they just didn’t realize they were continuing to operate from a place of protection for themselves that was no longer serving them. The result left you feeling alone and confused about your own emotions.

Whatever the reason or experience, childhood trauma can show up in a number of different ways, but aren’t limited to the following:

~ People pleasing                                                                                                                                           ~ Attempting to manage other’s emotions                                                                                              ~ Difficulty saying “no”                                                                                                                                ~ Being naturally good at reading others                                                                                               ~ Emotional blow ups for seemingly minor inconveniences                                                                     ~ Feeling bad for expressing your own emotions                                                                               ~ Difficulty or discomfort in putting your own needs first                                                              ~ Constantly feeling not good enough                                                  ~Identifying caregivers as narcissists or having borderline personality disorder

If any of this sounds familiar, there’s a chance you experienced childhood trauma. If you’d like to begin healing from some of these old wounds, understand yourself better, and break the cycle of hurt, let’s connect today!