Trauma is something that millions of people have to carry with them. You might have experienced abuse, either as a child or later in life. Or you could have experienced other types of trauma. Serious illnesses, injuries, and near-death experiences are also common causes of trauma. Even growing up in a financially struggling household, especially if you have to deal with food scarcity or pest infestations, can be linked to trauma.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t just go away after the inciting incident. Some people find that they’re negatively affected by trauma for decades afterwards. How can past trauma affect your life now, and what can you do about it?
Effects of Trauma
First, it’s important to debunk the idea that some trauma is less “real” than others. If you have symptoms of PTSD or trauma, your body and mind are in the same state as anyone else.
PTSD is one of the most well-known impacts of trauma, and it can cause other mental health issues like anxiety or depression. Many people also struggle with eating disorders, sleep disorders, and emotional dysregulation, especially if they experienced childhood trauma.
For example, some people who were abused in childhood were more likely to struggle to find work when they got older, and were even more prone to addiction disorders.
Generational Trauma
Trauma can even affect how you parent your children.
Generational trauma is a blanket term that describes how trauma can trickle down. In some cases, people who had abusive parents might grow up to abuse their own children. But many other people who grew up in abusive households make a conscious effort to provide a safe and loving home for their children. So we aren’t doomed to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors.
More commonly, if parents struggle with stress or other mental health issues, kids can pick up on it. People who have experienced trauma are more likely to struggle with their mental health, so it’s vital to manage your mental health and take your recovery seriously.
Talking About Trauma
Depending on how you manage your trauma, one thing that can be helpful is to talk about it.
This comes with a word of warning. Talking about traumatic events can be very difficult. Some people find that it dredges up emotions from the event itself and can take them back to that moment.
It can be helpful to seek professional help if you want to talk about trauma, as well as find coping mechanisms to help you now.
But talking about something can help you process it and move past the emotions of the time. While it’s emotionally upsetting, it can be helpful.
Finding Closure
The problem with trauma is that it’s hard to find real closure. This can be more important for certain types of trauma and for you as a person.
If you’re the victim of a crime, pursuing litigation can be a helpful way to find closure, even for something that happened a long time ago. For example, allegations involving Father Eusebio Pantoja Segura involved multiple children in the 1970s who grew up to accuse him in court decades later.
While it’s difficult, it can be worth it to seek justice.
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