20 Ways A Traumatic Childhood Can Impact Your Entire Life

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There are more than 20 ways a traumatic childhood can impact your entire life. These are just a few that are easy to spot in individuals.

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Trust issues

When a person has endured a traumatic childhood it becomes extremely hard to trust the world, let alone a single person. After such a tumultuous beginning, affected individuals don’t feel like getting hurt again.

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Emotional regulation

Those who have gone through a traumatic childhood also have a tough time regulating their emotions without therapy. One moment they might find that they’re happy, only to feel like the world is against them if something goes wrong.

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Lack of self-worth

Those who have had to deal with trauma in their formative years often put up a brave front if they’re successful. But beneath that, with a lot of people is a serious lack of self-esteem and self-worth that they can’t deal with.

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Abandonment issues

Abandonment does a very big number on a lot of people and it leaves a lasting impact. A person who is abandoned early on, or repeatedly, expects this type of behavior from others.

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Depression and anxiety

Trauma that’s experienced by children sets an unfortunate foundation for mental and physical issues to come. How a person sees the world early on is bound to affect how they see the world as an adolescent, and then an adult.

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Forming/maintaining healthy relationships

A traumatic background skews your perception of what a working relationship is. Without knowing it, a lot of people are drawn to those who act like those who inflicted their childhood trauma.

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Not dealing with emotions

The path of least resistance is what most people follow unless they’re incredibly stubborn. But since emotional pain is different from physical pain, some folks will avoid it like the plague.

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Managing stress is difficult

Everyone has built-in coping mechanisms for stress. Unfortunately, those who suffer from a traumatic childhood are weakened or tweaked in a way that requires a lot of therapy.

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Hypervigilance 

There’s another name for this, paranoia. What’s unfortunate is that it’s a personal security measure since a person who has endured trauma is on the lookout for the next stress point or potential threat.

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Success is not enjoyable 

This goes along with your lack of self-worth. Many people who have endured trauma once or more feel as though they’re not worth much, and don’t deserve success.

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Physical issues

Trauma is not limited to the mind and what it endures. Mental trauma manifests in physical symptoms as well, as a person can easily get sick if they are continually stressed.

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Enhanced sense of responsibility 

Some might not see this as negative, but the truth is that it puts too much mental and physical stress on a person. Taking on too much responsibility will have negative mental and physical effects unless one sets boundaries.

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Withdrawal from society

The world is a big place, and trauma only makes it more overwhelming than normal. A lot of people who have endured trauma pull away from this over-stimulation to avoid confrontation.

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Unable to cope with change 

Change is scary, and sometimes violent as it does come without warning. This is terrifying for those who have endured traumatic events, and their resistance to change is due to the need to hold onto something they understand.

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Anger issues

This is one of the common reactions felt by those who cannot regulate their emotions. Anger is an easy emotion to tap into for many people and is good at reinforcing many of the negative habits that form due to trauma.

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Suicidal thoughts

Sadly, this is too easy to see in many people who simply give up and fail to cope with their trauma. Some see this as a weakness, but it is often desperation that drives people to such lengths.

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Antisocial tendencies

More than just the act of pulling away from society, this is the act of making it clear that a person does not care about others. These types of tendencies are not always on display but are usually at hand for those with unresolved trauma.

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No sense of right or wrong

After a childhood trauma, it’s easy to think that highly impressionable kids will take what they see and emulate it. This doesn’t always happen, but it’s entirely possible.

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Forming unhealthy bonds

Like attracts like, as the saying goes. Those who have endured trauma at the hands of ill-behaved individuals will often seek out individuals who exhibit the same behavior as a means of familiarity and even comfort.

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Persecution complex

People who have endured one trauma or another and have not resolved this can and will sometimes believe that the world is out to get them. The smallest trigger can cause people with this issue to think that they are being attacked in some manner.