How Childhood Trauma May Affect Your Love Choice
The American Psychology Association defines "trauma" as "an emotional response to terrible events, " often resulting in lasting mental and physical effects. Childhood trauma (CPTSD or Complex PTSD) can occur when a child witnesses or experiences overwhelming negative events. Even if you don't exactly remember your childhood trauma, it still leaves an impact on you. So can childhood trauma affect your life as an adult? The answer is yes. Watch this video to find out more.
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00:00 But you were so young when that happened.
00:02 You hardly even remember it.
00:03 How can it even affect your personality now?
00:06 Saying things like these cannot undermine the fact
00:09 that childhood trauma exists.
00:11 And even if you don't exactly remember it,
00:13 it still leaves an impact on you.
00:15 The American Psychology Association defines trauma
00:17 as an emotional response to terrible events,
00:21 often resulting in lasting mental and physical effects.
00:24 Childhood trauma can occur when a child witnesses
00:27 or experiences overwhelming negative events.
00:30 This type of trauma falls within the category
00:32 of interpersonal trauma,
00:34 which means trauma that happens between people
00:36 and usually occurs in relationships with abuse,
00:39 assault, neglect, violence, exploitation, or bullying.
00:43 But what does it really mean?
00:45 Can childhood trauma affect your life as an adult?
00:48 The answer is yes.
00:49 Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences
00:52 are much more common than acknowledged
00:55 and can have severe impacts on adult health,
00:57 even 50 years later.
00:59 International surveys show
01:00 that childhood traumatic experiences
01:02 are common across the world.
01:04 These distressing events from early life
01:06 can continue to shadow your later life as an adult.
01:09 Here's how your childhood trauma affects your decisions
01:12 as an adult.
01:13 Number one, decision-making.
01:15 Have you ever wondered why you always seem
01:17 to make the wrong choice?
01:19 Are you still feeling stuck, not knowing what to do
01:22 while everyone else around you is smoothly sailing forward?
01:25 Is this just you being bad
01:26 at choosing what's best for your life?
01:28 In truth, the reason might lie within your childhood.
01:32 Research shows that those who suffered significant trauma
01:34 at a young age cannot correctly consider risk as adults.
01:38 Experiencing extreme stress during early development
01:42 has been shown to cause changes in the frontal areas
01:44 of the brain associated with learning,
01:46 decision-making, and memory,
01:48 causing interference with the formation
01:51 of the connections and networks
01:52 that support thinking and learning.
01:53 A study with over 50 people around the age of 20
01:56 found that those who had experienced extreme stress as kids
02:00 were hampered in their ability
02:01 to make good decisions as grownups.
02:03 The study involved adults engaging in gambling situations
02:06 designed to assess their response
02:08 to risk-taking, reward, and punishment.
02:11 The results showed that the people
02:12 who did not have stressful childhoods
02:14 tended to pay attention to the clues and gamble wisely.
02:18 Those who had suffered severe trauma did not.
02:20 They would, for instance,
02:21 choose the shape they had been warned against
02:24 and make a mistake repeatedly.
02:26 Number two, interaction with others in relationships.
02:29 Loving is hard, but it can be even harder
02:32 if you've suffered from distressing memories
02:34 in your childhood.
02:35 If you've experienced trauma
02:36 during the first years of your life,
02:38 then the odds are you might look at
02:40 and experience adult relationships in a certain way.
02:43 Perhaps you don't feel safe all the time,
02:45 even when you're in a healthy relationship.
02:47 Perhaps you hesitate to open your heart to anyone.
02:50 If you're feeling this way,
02:51 you are experiencing relationship challenges,
02:54 know that you're not alone.
02:55 In the United States, more than 2/3 of children
02:58 have experienced some form of trauma,
03:00 according to the Substance Abuse
03:01 and Mental Health Services Administration.
03:03 And there's a myriad of ways that childhood trauma
03:06 could impact the way you experience adult relationships.
03:09 In early childhood, secure attachment develops
03:11 within loving, nurturing, and stable relationships
03:14 in which your emotional and practical needs are met,
03:17 offering a kind of oasis in times of distress.
03:20 However, when your early childhood experiences
03:23 are marked by abuse or neglect,
03:26 your ability to form such attachments is disrupted,
03:29 resulting in attachment injury, trust issues,
03:32 and even mental health conditions.
03:33 Early attachment disruption
03:35 can cause an internal attachment disorder later.
03:38 This mirrors the emotional injuries
03:40 experienced in early childhood.
03:42 Hence, the only survival strategy left for you
03:45 is to alienate from yourself,
03:47 as well as from others.
03:49 Recovery begins when you learn to heal your hurt inner self.
03:54 Self-compassion and acceptance are key to recovery.
03:58 When life stressors evoke the fears and feelings
04:00 caused by early childhood trauma,
04:02 healing can come when you learn to hold close
04:05 and nurture the part of yourself
04:06 that is vulnerable and lacking in trust.
04:09 It's important to remember
04:10 that your past doesn't define who you are.
04:13 Yes, it's a part of your life,
04:15 but so is your present and your future.
04:18 Healing can take a long time, but it's possible.
04:21 Healing the harms and injuries of our childhood
04:24 is one of the hardest things we can do,
04:25 but it's necessary for us.
04:28 If you wanna get over the past,
04:30 you have to start by acknowledging it one step at a time.
04:33 Remember that you're not alone on this arduous journey.
04:36 Several organizations can offer you help and support.
04:39 Talk to someone you trust,
04:40 such as a friend, counselor, or youth worker.
04:44 If you found this video helpful,
04:45 remember to share with anyone who may benefit from it.
04:48 Looking forward to reading any thoughts or suggestions
04:50 you might have as well in the comments down below.
04:52 Thanks for watching.
04:53 See you next time, Psych2Goers.
04:55 (gentle music)
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