How childhood traumas affect adulthood

 In our life, we often come across individuals who struggle with numerous facets of their lives. For instance, being unable to perform some tasks or make new friends, going through mental and physical health issues, financial instability, addictions, low self-esteem, etc. Did we ever take a moment to consider, the reasons behind such acts? It is high time, we recognize that these challenges may be rooted in deep psychological or emotional wounds.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "Hate the crime, not the criminal".  He wanted the community to think about the reasons behind the crime and criminal psychology. In this way, many misdeeds can be annihilated before it occurs. In other words, we should not judge a person for his actions before we take a deep dive into his situation. Studies show many individuals with this kind of unusual behavior have the impact of significant traumas they have gone through during their childhood. These traumas continue to haunt them in their adulthood or worst, throughout their lifetime. It is crucial to understand the underlying causes rather than dismissing these as character flaws or morally crooked activities.

Childhood traumas are painful and distressing experiences, which can leave a deep scar on a person's life. These traumas may result in a wide range of difficulties. These traumas can come in the form of violence, fight between parents, neglect, physical and sexual abuse, loss of significant family members, severe financial crisis, deprivation of fundamental rights, unhealthy environment, accidents, etc. 

In our community, verbal and physical abuse is often accepted as a form of disciplinary action. People tend to forget that time has changed.  Verbal abuse and comparisons between children are no longer considered a good idea to discipline a child. These kinds of acts may result in poor personality traits in a child.  Comparison between children can develop low self-esteem which may ruin many opportunities in the long run. Negligence can lead to guilt, low self-worth and lack of confidence. These traumas make people incapable of loving themselves. This may cause many complications in social situations and career. These individuals may find it hard to trust people.  

In recent days, Physical and sexual abuse against children has increased alarmingly. Children who faced this kind of abuse have grown up to be misanthropes. Even if the criminals were punished, many of them could not recover from this trauma. As a result, those adults ended up hating people, especially the opposite gender. Additionally, these adults find it very difficult to form new relationships and make new friends. Many of them may stop socializing for fear of getting hurt.  

Childhood traumas can have a powerful impact on a person's emotional and psychological health. These people are at a higher risk of depression, PTSD - post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, panic attacks and other personality and psychological disorder. They can also be very sensitive and impulsive. Many of the victims indulge in various addictions such as drugs, food, online gaming, etc. To forget these nightmares, they consume alcohol and drugs. However, this only makes the situation worse.

Sufferers of childhood abuse not only suffer mentally but also physically. They may develop chronic diseases, diabetes, obesity, and incurable injury. Moreover, physical violence can make them disabled. Cognitive function can be hampered as well. This can lead to difficulties in learning, attention and memory.

Childhood traumas can also lead to financial instability. Many of the victims stop learning and studying as they bear those fearful events.  As a consequence, they end up not getting any jobs and ruin their careers. It is very easy to manipulate someone who is mentally and emotionally unstable. Victims of child abuse are often used in many unethical ways.  Some of them are very vulnerable emotionally. That is why they become the target of corrupt people. As these adults are not financial stable and independent, they are a burden to the society. Their brains cannot add anything to the economy.

Moreover, they engage in many immoral activities to earn their bread and butter. These individuals become prone to crime as well. As a matter of fact, it has been seen that many dangerous criminals suffered from some kind of abuse in their childhood and lived very unhealthy lives. Three infamous serial killers who were verbally abused in their childhood are JohnWayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway and Ed Gein.

Therefore, childhood abuse can significantly influence a person's life in the long run. Individuals who suffered from abuses tend to relive those horrible moments again and again. Because of this, they are unable to forget these horrendous incidents. Added to that, they frequently get intrusive thoughts. Moreover, as they are at a higher risk of depression, they might become suicidal as well. Necessary measures should be taken depending on the situation.

Lastly:

It is essential to know that recovery is possible through therapy and proper medication. Effect of traumas can be debilitating, making it harder for them to form new relationships, leading a healthy life and achieve personal improvement goals. Though impacts make the victims enfeebling, that does not mean they are weak as humans. They can be one of the strongest minds. These individuals can work through their experiences with proper assistance and lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Therapy, care groups and self-care practices can help these individuals to get over such memories. Lastly, we should help the people around us heal from their traumas through care and empathy.