Traumatic childhood experiences affect people in adulthood!

Due to the widespread use of this trope in the media and because of personal observations, we all know that traumatic childhood experiences affect people in adulthood.?

Our childhood is the fertile soil that forms our foundation, our experiences in that soil determine if we are going to be straight as bamboo, or intertwined and knotted as ivy.?

We are childishly naive or extremely paranoid; we are excessively impulsive or harming calculating. These imbalances handicap us from being able to exploit the benefits of a satisfying life. In other words, our ‘initial’ experiences in this world, even today, shape how we perceive the world, others, and ourselves. Having parents who put immense value on rewards and achievements, you may become a people-pleaser; Having a childhood with material unreliability, you may overachieve in terms of money.

Although a bit outdated, this concept is best described by Freud’s psychosexual stages. For example, A person stuck in the oral stage, the first year of life, due to neglect or inconsistency, may not feel good as an adult unless engaged in smoking, nail-biting, eating, or drinking (oral activities).??

According to Alexander Lloyd, a researcher at the University of London, childhood experiences can be split into 3 main categories:?

Threatening Events: Survivors of Threatening Events, like Child Sex Abuse, as adults, often deal with stress, depression, negative self-worth, suicidal thoughts, along with sleeping and eating disorders.??

Neglect: Childhood victims of neglect grow up to be adults who must put a lot of time into understanding their own emotions because they were never validated as children. Common effects of neglect include depression, PTSD, emotional unavailability, guilt, shame, and emptiness. They may become parents who neglect their children emotionally. Never having learned the importance of their own emotions, they may not know how to nurture those of their children.

Family Adversity: Children of divorce, report less satisfaction in romantic relationships. They fear rejection, have trust issues, and have low commitment which hinders the deepening of relationships.?

One might think these alterations are a part of ourselves forever, but the truth, therapy, is hopeful, although challenging. In conclusion, one must realize when it is time to stop looking through the narrow side of the lens into the past and when to peek at the wider path ahead.?