Because the issue has not been directly studied, we can not know whether a memory of a traumatic event is encoded and stored differently from a memory of a nontraumatic event.

For ethical and humanitarian reasons, memory researchers do not subject people to a traumatic event in order to test their memory of it. Also, although laboratory studies have shown that memory is often inaccurate and can be influenced by outside factors, memory research usually takes place either in a laboratory or some everyday setting. However, experienced clinical psychologists state that the phenomenon of a recovered memory is rare (e.g., one experienced practitioner reported having a recovered memory arise only once in 20 years of practice). What we do know is that both memory researchers and clinicians who work with trauma victims agree that both phenomena occur. Experts in the field of memory and trauma can provide some answers, but clearly more study and research are needed.

To get started, contact one of our offices in Granbury or Fort Worth, Texas, to set up a consultation.These questions lie at the heart of the memory of childhood abuse issue. If any of these descriptions ring true for you, we urge you to come see us so that we can release the hold that childhood trauma still has on your life. Suicide attempts are also shown to be considerably higher among adults who experienced childhood trauma. While childhood trauma can directly affect your mental and emotional health, it can also influence your physical health, For example, studies show that kids who were subjected to abuse were more at risk for serious health issues, including: There are many ways in which this problem can manifest itself, including:Īgain, these are just some examples, and you may experience different issues when it comes to regulating your emotional health. Emotional regulation and responsesĪnother side effect of childhood trauma may be problems regulating your emotions. Whatever the case, if you struggle with forming healthy relationships with your peers, this may be a sign of unresolved childhood trauma. Or, perhaps you consistently form unhealthy relationships with bad people since that is what you know from your childhood (a victim of child abuse may marry an abusive spouse, for example). This mistrust can carry over into your adulthood and affect your ability to form relationships with others. For example, if your childhood trauma was caused by a loved one or caregiver, you may learn to mistrust adults. Attachment and relationshipsĪnother warning flag of childhood trauma that carries over into adulthood are problems forming attachments and relationships. If any of these apply to you as an adult for no reason that you can think of, there is some cause for concern as you may be dealing with unresolved PTSD from your childhood. Reliving the event (flashbacks or nightmares).That said, some of the signs of PTSD include: In fact, only 3% to 15% of girls and 1% to 6% of boys experience PTSD after a traumatic experience.

While many people are aware of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which stems from unresolved trauma, this is a very specific mental health issue that doesn’t develop in everyone who experiences trauma. There are many different ways in which the lingering effects of childhood trauma can influence your adulthood, including: Post-traumatic stress disorder To give you a better idea about what constitutes trauma, here are some of the more common events:Īgain, it’s important to note that these are just common examples of trauma - your experiences may not reflect any of the events on this list, but it was still traumatic for you. There are many different types of trauma and each person’s reaction to the event depends upon a host of factors, such as whether you were able to “process” the event with the right support systems. One of the first things to understand about childhood trauma is that there’s no set cause-and-effect relationship. To get started, it’s important to recognize the signs that a past childhood trauma may still be haunting you, so we thought we’d review some of the more common warning flags here. Our goal is to help you reconcile past traumatic events so that you can move forward and pursue a happy and healthy life. Diana Ghelber and our team at the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry, offer a wide range of mental health services. To help make peace with a tumultuous past, Dr. From bullying to abuse, trauma is an unfortunate part of growing up for many children, and the effects can very much carry over into adulthood. The incidence of childhood trauma in the United States is eye-opening - more than two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by the age of 16.

Signs of repressed trauma