Domestic violence can affect children in two ways: DIRECTLY and INDIRECTLY. Let’s look at each of these two categories:
DIRECTLY :
– the violence is DELIBERATELY aimed at the child with the INTENTION of causing him/her harm
INDIRECTLY … Read the rest
BPD and ‘Clinging’ Dependency
An individual suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) typically finds it extremely difficult to judge the appropriate emotional distance/closeness s/he should keep with those with whom s/he interacts.
This can be very confusing indeed for … Read the rest
THE BRAIN AND NEUROPLASTICITY :
I have previously written articles on how early life trauma can adversely affect the physical development of the brain leading to, for example, psychological difficulties in adulthood such as finding it hard to control our … Read the rest
As humans, we have a natural, psychological defence mechanism which allows us to disconnect our conscious awareness from experiences which would be too emotionally disturbing for us to allow them access to our consciousness. This process is termed ‘DISSOCIATION… Read the rest
Research suggests that certain types of a dysfunctional family (click here to read my article on ‘scapegoating’ in dysfunctional families) can give rise to pathological sibling rivalry and sibling abuse (the term ‘sibling abuse’ refers to a situation in … Read the rest
Just because we are now adults, it does not necessarily follow that we will be completely free of emotional abuse by our parent, perhaps because s/he suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD), narcissism or some other disorder of personality.… Read the rest
If we felt frequently threatened as young children, and this occurred over a significant period of time, it is not at all improbable that THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM WAS ADVERSELY AFFECTED. 
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF OBSESSIVE LOVEIndividuals who fall victim to feelings of obsessive love tend to focus these feelings on a person who is obviously UNAVAILABLE (e.g. has a different sexual orientation or is in a happy and devoted relationship … Read the rest
I have written at length, in other articles on this site, about how those of us who suffered significant and protracted, interpersonal childhood trauma are more likely, on average, to develop mental illness as adults, including clinical depression One of … Read the rest
A large study at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) has found that gay teens are more likely to have a history of suicidality (eg suicidal feelings, suicidal plans, suicidal attempts) and depression than are heterosexual teens. The figures are … Read the rest
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire:
(Derived from questions originally used in the Adverse Childhood Experiences [ACE] Study).
Did your parents often demean you, devalue you, swear at you or humiliate you?
Did your parents physically abuse you?
Were you … Read the rest
We make sense of our lives by telling ourselves a story about it – however, this does not mean the story we tell ourselves reflects reality, not least because how we act and behave are often motivated by unconscious processes … Read the rest
SUICIDE AND BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER (BPD):
It is a startling fact that those who suffer from borderline personality disorder (BPD) – a serious psychiatric condition which has been shown to be strongly associated with the experience of childhood trauma (click … Read the rest
Those of us who experienced significant childhood trauma are at a far higher risk of developing the psychiatric condition known as DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER in adulthood than are the rest of the population.
Unfortunately, however, it often goes unidentified … Read the rest
External Sites About Recovery From Childhood Trauma
