Extreme Mental Pain
We have seen in other articles that I have previously published on this site that, if we have suffered severe and long-lasting childhood trauma, and, in particular, were brought up by parents who were emotionally disconnected …
Desperation To Escape Mental Anguish Caused By Childhood Trauma
The Fantasy Bond Originating From An Impoverished Mother-Child Relationship.
If, as babies and infants, our relationship with our mother (or other primary carers) was impoverished, misattuned and lacking in security and our mother/primary carer was insufficiently attuned to our basic needs and could not be relied upon to …
Eight Psychoneurotic Dimensions Of Complex PTSD
Complex PTSD can develop in individuals who have experienced protracted and severe interpersonal trauma (parents/primary caregivers) at critical stages in their psychological development whilst growing up. As the name of the condition suggests, both its causes and effects are …
How False Feelings Of Being ‘Bad’ Are Perpetuated
When a child is continually mistreated, s/he will inevitably conclude that s/he must be innately bad. This is because s/he has a need (at an unconscious level) to preserve the illusion that her/his parents are good; this can only be …
What Drunk Monkeys Can Teach Us About Effects Of Early Life Stress
A study conducted by Higley et al., 1991 involving twenty-two rhesus monkeys (all aged 50 months) was set up to investigate if their early life experience affected their alcohol consumption.
The twenty-two monkeys were split into two groups of
Why BPD Sufferers Often See Others As Malevolent
This article is based on ‘Object Relations Theory’ (Fairbairn, 1952). which places crucial importance upon interpersonal relationships, most of all interfamilial relationships, especially between the mother and the child. The theory, in particular, concerns itself with how we develop. in …
How Childhood Trauma Can Alter Brain’s Reward Circuits
There is increasing evidence to suggest that chronic, severe stress during childhood can lead to changes in the brain’s reward circuitry that leads individuals to prefer short term gains and immediate gratification over postponed, long-term gains and pleasures.
So, for …
Odd, Quasi-Psychotic And True Psychotic Thinking In BPD Sufferers
A study conducted by Zachirini et al. (2013)investigated the prevalence of disturbed thought in 290 in-patients who had been diagnosed with BPD (borderline personality disorder). The quality of disordered thinking measured in these 290 BPD in-patients was compared to the …
Traumatic Bonding With The Perpetrator Of The Trauma
Identification With The Aggressor:
Counterintuitively, it is not uncommon for those who have been badly mistreated by parents or primary carers to still feel an affectionate bond with their abusers. This can be regarded as a kind of pathological relationship …
Research Into Children Of Mothers Suffering From Borderline Personalty Disorder.
Reviewing previous studies involving children between the ages of 4 years and 18 years, Macfie states that such children of BPD mothers are at increased risk of :
- experiencing changes in household composition (e.g. due to divorce/BPD parent
Why Does Family Conflict Harm Some Children More Than Others?
Professor Gordon Harold and his colleagues have conducted a research study that helps to cast light upon why some children appear to be more resilient to the adverse psychological and behavioural effects of living in a household in which there …
8 Dysfunctional Roles Within The Dysfunctional Family
Within dysfunctional families, according to various psychologists (e.g. Wegscheider-Cruse and Kellogg), each family member develops a dysfunctional role. The number of roles, and how they are defined, varies somewhat but eight roles, representative of those so far proposed, are as …
How Bullying May Affect Teenagers’ Brains
A study conducted by Quinlan et al. (2018) on the effects of bullying on the brain and involving the study of 682 teenagers required these young people to fill out questionnaires about the extent to which they experienced bullying. …
Childhood Trauma Can Make Us Terrified Of Accepting Love In Adulthood.
It is well documented that severe and protracted childhood trauma greatly increases our risk of experiencing relationship difficulties in our adult lives. In some cases, this can result in fear, or even terror, of close, loving relationships in our adult …
Why Childhood Trauma Sufferers Can’t ‘Just Get Over It.’
If we have been unfortunate enough to have suffered severe and protracted childhood trauma and have, as a result, developed emotional and behavioural problems (which, in some cases may have led to diagnoses of borderline personality disorder or complex posttraumatic …
