THUNAIDoctors and therapists have long observed that people with a child trauma history present a wide range of physical and psychiatric symptoms. There has been a lot of scientific studies trying to understand this phenomena.
These studies point to a strong link between the physical, sexual, or psychological maltreatment of children and the development of psychiatric problems. Childhood abuse has lasting impacts well into adulthood, and in some cases, they can manifest into a number of different disorders that can impact everyday life and relationships.
Many of these symptoms will not automatically go away as time moves on. It is important to understand that recovery is a process, and each disorder requires its own course of professional treatment.
Many psychiatric difficulties show up in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. The victim’s anger, shame, and despair can be directed inward to spawn symptoms such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress, or directed outward as aggression, impulsiveness, delinquency, hyperactivity, and substance abuse.
Childhood trauma may fuel a range of persistent psychiatric disorders from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to personality disorders. This includes disorders such as somatic symptom disorder (also known as psychosomatic disorder), in which patients experience physical symptoms of an illness or injury, but with no discernible medical cause.
More complex, difficult-to-treat disorders strongly associated with childhood abuse are borderline personality disorder (BPD) and dissociative identity disorder (DID). Someone with borderline personality disorder characteristically sees others in black-and-white terms, first putting them on a pedestal, then vilifying them after some perceived slight or betrayal.
Suffers have a history of intense but unstable relationships, feel empty or unsure of their identity, often try to escape through substance abuse, and experience self-destructive impulses and suicidal thoughts. They are plagued by anger, most often directed at themselves. Inability to control and regulate their surging emotions is a key driver of this disorder. Borderline disorder (BPD) is now recognised as a complex trauma – a severe form of PTSD.
Dissociative disorders involve a disconnect in how the mind processes information – your feelings, thoughts, memories and surroundings. In extreme cases, they may suffer from amnesia. These have a big impact on self-identity.
Abuse survivors are at heightened risk of developing depression, that cannot always be treated with only SSRI medication unless the underlying trauma is dealt with. ADHD also frequently occur in people with a history of experiencing child abuse.
The trauma of abuse induces a cascade of effects, including changes in hormones and neurotransmitters that mediate the development of vulnerable brain regions. Both the structure and functionality of the brain are impacted during developmental years, with lasting effects. They impact the survivor’s ability to form stable relationships that are so crucial for their recovery.