“In an attempt to create some sense of safety and to control their pervasive fear, traumatized people restrict their lives.” Judith Herman
If you survived childhood trauma, you are not alone. Unfortunately, traumatic childhood events are all too common. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 64 percent of U.S. adults reported that they experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) before 18 years old. Almost one in six (17.3 percent) reported that they experienced four or more types of ACESs before 18.
I highly recommend taking the ACEs quiz. Knowing your score can help you understand the impacts of trauma. My score is four, and research shows that having a score of four or more causes health problems in adulthood. Out of curiosity, I re-took the test with my grandmother in mind. Her score is seven. I felt almost nauseous and light-headed when I connected her high ACEs score with her numerous health issues.
Trauma and Health Problems
“Being in a constant state of alarm can cause several health problems such as anxiety and high blood pressure.” Sandstone Care
“Trauma is a public health issue,” states a paper for the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. The University of California at San Francisco research found that “unaddressed trauma is the hidden cause of most preventable illnesses, and is associated with eight of the 10 leading causes of death, including heart, lung and kidney disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, suicide, and accidental overdose.”
Preventing ACEs would save money and reduce health problems. The CDC estimates that the ACES has an economic burden of $748 billion in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States. Preventing ACEs could avoid up to 1.9 million heart disease cases and 21 million depression cases.
Types of Trauma
To fully understand the impacts of trauma, both on our physical and mental health, we need to know the three different types of trauma: acute, chronic, and complex. Acute trauma, also called type one trauma, is a single-incident trauma. Examples include hospitalization, violent assault, or accident. The common symptoms of type one/acute trauma include the following, according to Sandstone Care, a treatment facility for addiction and mental health in Colorado:
Irritability
Anxiety
Difficulty concentrating
Flashbacks
Avoidance
Difficulty sleeping
Nightmares
Intrusive memories
Dissociation
Type two trauma is chronic. Repeated childhood sexual abuse is one example. Chronic trauma symptoms may include shame and guilt, difficulty with emotion regulation, anxiety disorders, depression, and chronic pain. The symptoms of depression and anxiety stand out for me as they are two of my biggest after-effects of trauma. In one study, 61 percent of patients with depression reported they experienced some kind of trauma. Another study found that 35 percent of patients with depression reported that they experienced childhood trauma, and 14 percent experienced one childhood life event.
Repeated trauma, particularly early in childhood, impacts someone more than trauma caused by one event. A review of studies on trauma differentiated between acute and chronic trauma. “Compared with type I, type II trauma has a more severe impact on individuals…In general, type II trauma presents complex and diverse symptoms and will not heal naturally.”
Complex trauma includes different kinds of trauma. For example, I was repeatedly sexually abused in my early childhood and endured verbal and emotional abuse. As an adult, I nearly died from blood loss due to a uterine fibroid. Complex PTSD (c-PTSD) may result from complex trauma. The psychiatrist, Judith Herman coined the term complex PTSD (c-PTSD). The World Health Organization's 11th revision to the International Classification of Diseases manual (ICD-11) differentiates between PTSD and c-PTSD. DBT and CBT are both good options for complex trauma.
Treatment For Acute and Chronic Trauma
One common treatment for type one trauma is cognitive behavioral therapy, which aims to change thought patterns. According to the American Psychological Association, CBT strategies include learning to recognize your thought distortions and reevaluate them. Researchers compared the results of 24 people after acute civilian trauma who received five sessions of either CBT or supportive counseling (SC) within two weeks of their trauma. Only eight percent of participants in CBT met the criteria for PTSD after treatment, while 83 percent of those who received SC had PTSD post-treatment.
One of the effective treatments for chronic trauma is dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). DBT is a cognitive behavioral treatment developed to treat people diagnosed as chronically suicidal people with borderline personality disorder. DBT is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. It is also used to treat other conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. DBT includes four skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation.
I began DBT last July. Every Thursday morning at 10, I sit with my therapist and learn skills that help me heal. I highly recommend DBT for my fellow childhood trauma survivors, particularly if you have unhealthy coping mechanisms. Research backs up my claims. In one study, German researchers evaluated 42 people with PTSD from childhood abuse at the start and end of three months of in-patient DBT. At the end of the three months, 76.2 percent of the patients had reduced guilt and had embraced radical acceptance of their traumatic events.
“The challenge of recovery is to reestablish ownership of your body and your mind.” Bessel Van der Kolk
You are not alone
Whatever trauma you faced, there is healing. You are not alone. You join a community here of survivors who seek to become thrivers. Comment and interact with other commenters. And if you ever need encouragement, email me at thepossiblepath@gmail.com.
Resources
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body In the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence From Domestic to Political Terror by Judith Herman
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God bless you for sharing your healing journey from childhood trauma. I believe many are being helped in their healing journeys too. Love you and so proud of you. <3