signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults

Some ways trauma survivors may revictimize themselves include: In short, what a person fails to address will often negatively impact their choices in the future and they can repeat acts or behaviors associated with the trauma. Revictimization is largely unconscious in nature and something that repressed childhood trauma survivors often engage in. While many attribute these symptoms to ADD or ADHD, they can also be linked to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This can lead to being easily distracted, forgetful, and disorganized. When someone’s mind is working to repress trauma, one may experience an inability to focus. Repressing memories isn’t deliberate, but it does require mental ‘bandwidth’. Over time, this can make people more susceptible to fear and other difficult emotions. Experts believe this is largely because trauma can rewire the developing brain, affecting regions associated with stress, fear, and emotion regulation. Many survivors showing signs of repressed childhood experience strong emotions, mood swings, and overwhelming stress. Unresolved trauma can lead to a build-up of toxic stress that continues to impact a person into adulthood. These can present in several ways, including: This manifests as narcissism, psychopathy, and sociopathy. Persistent self-criticism or negative self-talkĬhildhood trauma can also cause the opposite problem: self-overestimation.Perfectionism or inability to accept flaws and mistakes.Poor boundaries or inability to stand up for oneself.Self-blame may offer someone the illusion of having control over any future traumatic experiences, it often leads to low self-esteem. Many people with repressed childhood trauma blame themselves for what happened to them as children, despite in reality, having no fault. Over time, these behaviors can adversely impact one’s relationships. One may also be excessively controlling, exhibit a pattern of shutting down, or push people away. This can manifest as intense fears of abandonment and trust issues. This can be due to insecure attachment styles that form in response to neglectful, abusive, absent, or inconsistent caregivers. Many adults with early childhood trauma struggle to form lasting, healthy, and stable relationships. Even behavioral addictions to food or sex may be used as a method of coping. Those with repressed memories may rely on unhealthy habits like smoking and substance abuse to avoid thinking about or facing past traumas. Additionally, survivors are more susceptible to chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. These signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults can mean they’re 2-5 times more likely to suffer from a mental illness which can lead to physical health issues.Įffects of childhood trauma can lower a person’s immunity, increasing the risk of infections and illnesses. Mental Health Conditions Leading To Physical Illness This can negatively influence someone’s closest connections or lead someone to avoid pursuing new relationships or push away loved ones, becoming hyper-independent. Those who had adverse childhood experiences like betrayal, abandonment, abuse, or neglect as children commonly expect others to repeat these patterns. Many of those who have experienced childhood trauma develop trust issues which continually affect their relationships in adulthood. This kind of thinking can cause problems like: This kind of cognitive distortion reflects the mind’s way of labeling things or people as either good or bad.īlack or white thinking is also a defense mechanism people may use to make quick decisions during times of stress. Black Or White Thinking īlack or white thinking is another byproduct of unresolved childhood trauma. They can also be the result of hypnosis or other forms of suggestive therapy. Some experts believe false memories are the mind’s way of trying to ‘fill in the gaps’ left by episodes of dissociative amnesia. They’re not stories a person makes up to get attention rather, they’re things one vividly remembers happening to them, despite them never actually occurring. False memories are another of the signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults.

Signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults