Childhood Trauma Its Impact on the People around Us

look to the events in the world that

surround you

school shootings capital invasions

police brutality

relevations of ongoing assault etc

externally we see trauma

look to the events in your life

relationships expectations

conflicts accidents and tragedies

internally we have trauma

dr timothy j legg reviewed an article

written by jane leonard

which defines psychological trauma as

the response to an event a person

finds highly stressful further this

article lists

three types of trauma the first is acute

which is resulting from a single

stressful event

the second is chronic which is repeated

exposure

to multiple stressful events and the

last one is

complex trauma which is repeated and

prolonged exposure to multiple traumatic

events

what this tells me is trauma is

subjective

what is highly traumatic to one person

may be different from what is highly

traumatic to another

this meaning almost all of us have

experienced

some sort of traumatic childhood event

some more extreme than the next but we

can agree it’s something the community

around us

is talking about more for example

people are using social media to share

their own personal experiences

people who have a platform will explain

their concerns more

surrounding childhood trauma further

childhood trauma

affects not only the child but the

people around them

why is the topic of childhood trauma

more commonly discussed

now than in the past it isn’t more

common for children to be abused

now than say a hundred years ago so i

decided to find out more about trauma

specifically childhood trauma let’s

start at the beginning

the causes of trauma trauma can be

caused by psychological

physical or sexual abuse national

disasters

community or school violence

relationships sexual abuse

and serious illnesses

there are more causes than those i’ve

just listed and although all of these

circumstances can happen at any point in

time

it’s especially hard for children going

through them

i decided to start my research by

talking to friends and family

before conducting interviews i asked

whether or not

they had a traumatic childhood

experience

this first response being absolutely

my entire childhood was traumatic

she continued by giving me numerous

stories and examples of what happened

she stated my father’s best friend had

moved in with me and my family

he had rape and molested me my mother

called me a at the age of eight

she said it was my fault and that no one

would ever see us the same

she said we can’t kick him out because

everyone would know

my daughter was a virgin was no longer a

virgin

and a now

this abuse continued between her and the

so-called man

with her mother’s knowledge every day

it lasted for six months until she told

her father

after kicking the man out her father

forbade her from telling anyone

because you would never marry a good man

because you were no longer a virgin

sadly this is not the only abuse she

endured

after hearing her full story i was

emotional

aside from the obvious assault she

endured the reaction

of her parents was so troubling to me

the people that should have been

comforting and supporting her did quite

the opposite

how could a parent do such a thing to

their child

i talked to another person and heard his

stories about how he was homeless

at the age of 14. he said

i was at my lowest point and being that

young it affected me

i never asked anyone for anything ever

he said this man at the age of 14

had to eat out of dumpsters and sleep in

the park

his parents were divorced and his mother

didn’t care for him the way that she

should have

have i had a traumatic childhood

experience

for six years i had a teacher that used

to harass and assault me in class

he commonly pulled on my dresser’s skirt

punched my back or told me i was more

beautiful than the other girls in my

class

at the time i didn’t understand that

what he was doing was wrong

and thought it was completely normal

until in about third or fourth grade

the principal brought me into her office

and asked if he had touched me

i told her no covering up for him

i didn’t understand that him treating me

different than the rest of the kids

was abnormal and thought it’s what i

deserved for misbehaving

or for being the way that i was i was

different than the rest of the kids

and this is how i deserve to be treated

trauma in and of itself is traumatic

but trauma that is neglected or worsened

by loved ones

is what’s truly heartbreaking

yet when we take ourselves out of the

past and look at the stories

of these adults when they were children

we

can find hope the woman who was called a

at the age of eight graduated married

and had

four beautiful babies the gentleman i

interviewed had a daughter and succeeded

in life with a good job

a place to sleep and the ability to

support his loved ones

i found out that 92 percent of people

say

they’ve grown because of their childhood

trauma here’s what they say

i’m a better mom to my children because

of everything that happened to me

i’m a better mother and a person because

my mother wasn’t

and the number one thing i wanted most

was to make sure

my children didn’t see me the same way i

saw my mother the gentleman stated

my parents taught me what i didn’t want

to be in life

my hard work and ethic came from being

homeless

being homeless drove me to work harder

and do better

i personally feel i’m a more generous

and welcoming person because of

everything that’s happened to me

i’ve grown to love what life has offered

me and the people that matter to me

so if you are currently listening to

this talk and are struggling to move

past your own childhood trauma

know that it will get better from the

mouth of a person who overcame their

trauma

see yourself as a survivor because

that’s what you are

times are hard now but it will get

better and things will get easier

if you are currently listening to this

talk and know someone who is going

through their own trauma

support them and be there for them

if you are currently experiencing trauma

find help and talk to someone you trust

whether it’s a trusted adult or a

trained professional

get the help you deserve

we cannot simply avoid trauma

but as we look to the events in the

world that surround us

recognize and appreciate the trauma

find ways to remove yourself from

ongoing trauma and seek help to begin

the journey of overcoming it

help those around you without judgment

and recognize we are made of the best

and worst

experiences of our lives no one moment

is a permanent condition turn your

trauma

into triumph thank you