Childhood Trauma RecoveryOver 750 free articles by psychologist and childhood trauma survivor David Hosier MSc on effects of childhood trauma, therapies, self-help and related topics
Category Archives: Complex Ptsd And Its Link To Childhood Trauma
Articles about how severe and protracted childhood trauma can lead to a form of PTSD commonly referred to as Complex PTSD, symptoms of which include : problems controlling emotions, self-harm, hypersexuality, dissociation, intrusive thoughts, psychogenic amnesia, flashbacks, shame, guilt, self-blame, helplessness, inability to trust others, relationship difficulties, withdrawal, isolation, extreme anger, confusion, terror, feelings of emptiness, despair and a conviction that life is utterly without meaning.
A major study (Spinazzola et al.) on the effects of child maltreatment provides strong evidence that psychological maltreatment of children is the most harmful form of abuse.
The study analyzed a sample of 5616 young people who had histories of childhood trauma in the form of :
Each young person who participated in the study was then assessed on whether or not he / she had experienced particular behavioral problems, symptoms and disorders (12 in all) , a list of which I present below :
The researchers found that those young people who had a history of psychological maltreatment were more damaged by their adverse experiences (as measured by to what extent they were affected by the above listed behavioral problems, symptoms and disorders) than were those who had suffered physical or sexual abuse.
More specifically, of the above 12 listed behavioral problems, symptoms and disorders, those who had suffered psychological maltreatment were equally likely, or more likely, than those who had suffered physical abuse to have been affected by :
Furthermore, of the above 12 listed behavioral problems, symptoms and disorders, those who had suffered psychological maltreatment were equally likely, or more likely, than those who had suffered sexual abuse to have been affected by :
In response to the above findings, the authors of the study emphasized the need for it to become a matter of public policy to develop and implement childhood trauma interventions in ways that recognize just what a devastating effect psychological maltreatment in one’s childhood can have upon a person’s quality of life.
They also draw attention to the need for the child welfare system to improve their ability to detect cases of child psychological maltreatment (which frequently occurs ‘under the radar’) so that effective interventions may be implemented.
EFT stands for the emotional freedom technique and is used to treat sufferers of various disorders, including PTSD (complex posttraumatic stress disorder) and complex PTSD (and, in this article, I will be looking at its effectiveness in relation to these two disorders).
‘TAPPING’ :
EFT is also sometimes referred to as tapping for the simple reason that it involves using the tips of the fingers to tap on specific acupuncture (sometimes called acupuncture points or just acupoints)on the body.
EFT is based on the same theory as acupuncture (in which the acupuncture points are punctured with needles rather than being tapped with the finger tips) ; this theory proposes that ‘meridians’ run through the body which operate as pathways for the carrying of energy.
BLOCKAGES :
It is theorized that disease is caused by the occurrence of blockages along these meridians (or pathways) and that these blockages can be unblocked by tapping on specific points on the body (in EFT, these points are referred to as acupressure points, whereas, in acupuncture, they are referred to as acupuncture points ; in both cases, these terms can be abbreviated to acupoints). This unblocking, according to the theory, alleviates the corresponding disease.
SPECIALIZED TECHNIQUES FOR WORKING WITH TRAUMA :
Within EFT, there are three specific techniques which were devised for treating trauma. These are referred to as THE GENTLE TECHNIQUES, as described in the EFT MANUAL (Church, 2013).
EVIDENCE :
RANDOM CONTROLLED STUDIES :
In terms of evidence for EFT, a random controlled study (Church et al., 2013), involving war veterans suffering from PTSD. found that 86% significantly improved after six sessions of EFT and 80% remained significantly improved after 3 and 6 month follow-ups.
This experiment was independently replicated by Geronilla et al. (2014), and this replication obtained similarly encouraging results.
TELEPHONE EFT VERSUS ‘IN PERSON’ EFT :
On further analysis of the data obtained from Church et al.’s (2013) study (see above), it was found that telephone EFT (in which the therapist talks to, and guides, the client over the telephone and the client ‘self-administers’ the taps) led to the significant improvement of 67% of the veterans with PTSD after six sessions, compared to 91% of the veterans with PTSD who significantly improved after the same number of ‘in-person’ EFT sessions. This suggests that whilst telephone EFT can be effective, it tends, overall, not to be as effective as ‘in person’ EFT.
GROUPS :
In a study by Gurret et al. (2012), seventy-seven victims of the Haiti earthquake were given a two-day training course in EFT. It was found that, before the EFT training, 62% fulfilled the criteria for having PTSD but this fell to zero per cent after the training had been administered, providing support for the effectiveness of group EFT.
META-ANALYSIS :
A meta-analysis, conducted by Sebastian and Nelms (2016), reviewed seven studies ; findings from this analysis found evidence that EFT for those suffering from the effects of trauma can :
We have seen from other articles published on this site that those who have experienced severe and protracted childhood trauma are, as adults, at an elevated risk of suffering from depression. We have also seen how hypnotherapy can benefit trauma survivors (in fact, research has shown that those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are, overall, more responsive to hypnotherapy than is the average person).
Depression And How People Think :
Those who are depressed tend to be, quite understandably, self-focused and self-absorbed, not least because they are in a great deal of mental anguish and turmoil (just as anyone suffering from excruciating tooth ache will inevitably be self-focused and self-absorbed). This is why it is unfair to accuse those who experience this extremely serious condition as ‘choosing’ to be ‘selfish’.
Another very common feature of depression is that it causes the person who is suffering from it to (falsely) believe that there is no hope of recovery.
A third hallmark of depressive thinking is that the afflicted individual tends to be extremely focused on the past, as opposed to on the present or the future.
Fourth. depressive thinking tends to be ‘ruminative’ as opposed to ‘experiential’.
Ruminative thinking is generalized and abstract and involves dwelling on distressing matters ; depressive rumination has been defined as ‘thoughts that focus one’s attention on one’s depressive symptoms and their implications’ (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). It is also decontextualized and self-evaluative. Such rumination has been found to be a major contributory factor to the onset of depression and its maintenance.
‘Experiential’ thinking, on the other hand, is specific to a current task being undertaken.
Traditionally, ‘rumination’ has been regarded as a negative style of thinking, whereas ‘experiential’ thinking has been regarded as positive. Herman et al., 2008 suggested that the tendency to over-generalize when indulging in ruminative thinking (e.g. by thinking things like : ‘I’ve never done anything right in my entire life’, or. ‘everybody has always hated me and always will’) is the strongest predictor of the severity and duration of depression, as well as of the likelihood of relapse ; in other words, the more prone one is to ruminative-style thinking, the worse, and longer lasting, one’s depression is likely to be ; furthermore, the greater one’s chances of relapsing after recovery are likely to be.
It is important, then, that we attempt to adopt a far more ‘experienttial’ style of thinking and keep to a minimum our negative, ruminating-style thinking if we wish to reduce our feelings of depression or to prevent ourselves from relapsing into further depressive episodes.
HOW HYPNOTHERAPY CAN HELP IN RELATION TO THE ABOVE :
Hypnotherapy can :
encourage us to think ‘experientially’ e.g by thinking about and planning achievable tasks and goals as well as motivating us to carry out such tasks
focus on the present and future rather than on the past
help us to feel more positive
reduce distressing, intrusive thoughts
help us to reduce dysfunctional, generalized thinking
reduce self-crticism
reduce the judgmental, internal dialogues we have with ourselves
increase our ability to recall traumatic memories without attributing to them self-blame
increase our ability to change out thinking style from ‘ruminative’ to ‘experiential.’
calm the brain’s amygdala which, in turn, puts us in a much better position to resolve traumatic events from the past.
RESOURCE :
If you are interested in how hypnosis can help with all of the above and much more, you may wish to visit the affiliated site, hypnosisdownloads.com, which I have used to aid my own recovery.
The effects of trauma, in the absence of effective therapy, can adversely affect our lives for years or even decades (for our WHOLE lifetimes, in fact) after it is over (indeed, the effects of trauma themselves can take years from when the traumatic experience ended to present themselves – in relation to this, you may wish to read my previously published article entitled : ‘Why Can Effects Of Childhood Trauma Be Delayed?’).
In his book, ‘The Betrayal Bond‘, Patrick Carnes, PhD, outlines eight main ways in which the experience of severe trauma can continue to affect us. I list these below :
Trauma reaction :
The ‘alarm’ response to the traumatic experience. These responses can be both biological and psychological. Extreme and prolonged trauma can lead to an individual becoming essentially ‘trapped’ in the alarm response which results in him/her becoming extremely, emotionally reactive and prone to flying into rages in response to the smallest of provocations. This state is sometimes referred to as hypervigilance or hyperarousal.
Furthermore, this ongoing trauma reaction frequently involves :
This refers to deriving pleasure from taking large risks, sensation seeking, and exposing oneself to high levels of danger or even from getting involved in violent situations ; individuals who are traumatized may behave in such ways to detract from feelings of emptiness and emotional pain.
Individuals displaying trauma arousal may :
find it difficult being alone
be intolerant of ‘low-stress situations’ (as such situations do not satisfy their cravings for mental stimulation).
need ever increasing ‘hits’ of stimulation and excitement due to habituation, leading to taking greater and greater risks
use stimulant drugs (e.g. cocaine)
associate with dangerous people
become increasingly addicted to the arousal state
Trauma blocking :
Trauma blocking refers to the individual’s attempts to numb him/herself so as to escape / block out painful feelings associated with the traumatic experiences.
Individuals displaying trauma blocking behavior may :
over-eat, especially carbohydrates to induce drowsiness
This refers to the unconscious process of avoiding the reality of the traumatic experience by ‘splitting it off’ from conscious awareness so that it is compartmentalized and unintegrated into personality so as to allow day-to-day functioning (if it was not ‘split off’ and compartmentalized, it would psychologically overwhelm the individual. Therefore ‘splitting’ can be categorized as defence mechanism ; however, such splitting prevents the information associated with the traumatic experience being properly processed which, in turn, prevents traumatic resolution. (For more about ‘splitting’, click here).
‘Splitting’ can manifest itself in various ways :
using hallucinogenic drugs (such as LSD) to ‘enter an alternative reality.’
In extreme cases, ‘splitting’ can take on the form of dissociative identity disorder (which used to be called ‘multiple personality disorder’) which may involve amnesia about what one has been doing and where one is
According to Carnes, self-deprivation may relate to the individual having been deprived and neglected during childhood, causing him/her to believe, as an adult, that s/he is unworthy and undeserving of ‘the good things in life.’ If such an individual also has a high level of arousal caused by childhood trauma such as severe abuse (click here to read my article about hyperarousal ), this may also have led neurochemical changes in the individual’s brain making him/her prone to addictive behavior. When these two two factors (i.e. self-neglect caused by a belief of being ‘unworthy’ and proneness to addiction) coalesce, s/he may become, as it were, addicted to self-deprivation.
Carnes provides the example of anorexia, explaining that self-starvation operates like an addiction to drugs because it can increase the production of endorphins, the body’s natural pain-killers (e.g. Tepper, 1992). He also states that such addictions to deprivation may operate to psychologically compensate for a sense of loss of control in other areas of life ; the example Carnes provides is that of a woman who is sexually out of control ‘compensating’ by becoming anorexic.
Food is just one example of what such individuals may deprive themselves of, other examples include :
putting up with being treated badly by others (e.g. in belief of deserving bad treatment or in belief that ‘nice’, ‘decent’ people would not ‘lower themselves’ to be friends with one / have a relationship with one).
This refers to an unconscious drive to recreate and re-experience the trauma through people (e.g. forming relationships with physically abusive partners if one was physically abused as a child) and situations and to repeat behaviors associated with the original trauma.
Trauma repetition may also involve the traumatized individual being unconsciously driven to treat others in the same abusive manner that they themselves had been treated.
There exist different theories as to why individuals often re-enact their original traumatic experiences later on in life. For example, Levy PhD (1998) proposed that reenactments might be caused by :
attempts to gain mastery (which may be adaptive or maladaptive).
There is no one, absolute and precise definition of childhood trauma. However, experts in the field of its study generally agree that an individual’s traumatic experience will be related to one or more of the following three types of abuse (or, including NEGLECT, 4 types of abuse) :
In the past it was generally agreed amongst clinicians that sexual abuse had the most significant adverse impact on the child’s subsequent development. However, it is important to point out that more up-to-date research shows emotional and physical abuse can be just as damaging (some children will experience a combination of two or more of the three types).
The exact nature of the abuse will be inextricably intertwined with the developmental problems which emerge in the individual as a result of it.
Neglect :
There is a problem, though, with the categorization method. This is because the three individual categories do not tend to take account of neglect. Neglect may involve a parent or carer doing nothing to intervene to prevent the child from being abused by someone else, or a parent burdening a young child with their own psychological problems which the child is not old or mature enough to cope with. A parent or carer might neglect a child knowingly or unknowingly.
How Common is Child Abuse?
It is difficult to know the true figures as childhood abuse is often covered up or unreported. Also, accurate figures are hindered by the fact childhood abuse cannot be precisely defined.
However, current estimates in the UK suggest about 12% of children experience physical abuse and 11% experience sexual abuse.
Whilst it is impossible to precisely define child abuse, what is important is the PERSONAL MEANING the sufferer ATTACHES to it. In other words, recognizing the problems a person has developed as a result of the abuse and providing therapy to help the individual deal with those problems is more important than precisely defining the traumatic experience which caused the problems, and arguing about whether it technically qualifies as abuse or not.
Events in childhood which cause trauma are often referred to as ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (or ACEs) in the literature. To view an infographic of ACEs, please click here.
Those of us who experienced high levels of stress as children are at increased risk of developing PTSD.
Whilst it is imperative that a diagnosis for PTSD does NOT derive from self-diagnosis but, instead, comes from a relevantly qualified professional (such as a psychiatrist), the symptoms I list below in a PTSD checklist can give an idea of whether or not one may be suffering from it :
These can be split up into three main PTSD symptom categories as follows below:
– obsessive and uncontrollable thinking about the trauma one has experienced, perhaps to the point that it is hard to think about, or concentrate on, anything else
– constant sense of fear, vulnerability, being under threat and of being in extreme imminent danger
– transient and spontaneous psychotic symptoms (e.g visual hallucinations -such as ‘seeing’ past traumatic events happen again, or auditory hallucinations – such as ‘hearing’ sounds or voices connected to the original trauma
3) Symptoms relating to a person’s biology/physiology/level of physical arousal.
– hypervigilance (feeling ‘keyed up’, tense and constantly on guard)
– getting into physical fights, especially if using alcohol to numb feelings of distress/fear
– an over-sensitive startle response
– feeling constantly ‘jittery’ and ‘on-edge’
– inability to relax
– insomnia/frequent waking/unrefreshing sleep
Miscellaneous Other Possible Symptoms:
– despair; feeling life is empty and meaningless; feeling numb and ‘dead inside’; anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure); inability to trust others; loss of motivation; loss of interest in previous hobbies/pursuits; loss of interest in sex; cynical and deeply pessimistic outlook; self-neglect; self-harm; thoughts of suicide/suicide attempts; extreme and chronic fatigue; agoraphobia and phobias related to the original trauma.
(NBÂ : Whilst the above list of symptoms is extensive, it is not exhaustive).
Recommended link:
For more detailed help and advice regarding this serious condition, click here : Advice from MIND on PTSD.
Researchers van der Kolket al. have proposed that children who are significantly psychologically and emotionally disturbed as a result of their traumatic upbringings be diagnosed with Developmental Trauma Disorder (although the proposed diagnosis is not yet included in the DSM or, to give it its full title, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness).
The researchers who propose the diagnosis argue that the various diagnoses disturbed children currently receive, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder and anxiety, are too narrow, restricted and limiting and, furthermore, do not recognize or acknowledge the ‘big picture’ (i.e. the full extent and range of the damage that has been done to child’s functioning).
They also argue that limited and narrow diagnoses like Oppositional Defiant Disorder lead to clinicians focusing too much on correcting the behaviour at the expense of identifying and understanding the underlying cause of it (i.e. the trauma that the child has suffered).
Van der Kolk, in his book The Body Keeps Score (see below) describes Developmental Trauma Disorder as having three prime features; these are as follows:
According to van der Kolk, this may entail dramatic mood swings, outbursts of extreme temper, panic, detachment, flatness, dissociation and the inability to self-sooth
Van der Kolk also draws our attention to the fact that, because the child suffering from Developmental Trauma Disorder is constantly in a state of high stress (and, subsequently, is likely to have an abnormally high level of stress hormones – such as cortisol – coursing through his/her veins) s/he will also be susceptible to various physical symptoms; these include:
The young person with Developmental Trauma Disorder, in an attempt to alleviate the severe stress s/he perpetually feels, may, also, according to van der Kolk:
If the child has been rejected and/or largely ignored by his/her parents/caregivers this may lead him/her to become extremely ‘needy’ and ‘clingy.‘
Also, s/he is likely to have internalized his/her parents’/caregivers’ negative view of him/her and therefore develop feelings of self-hatred, of being intrinsically unlovable, and of being worthless and of no value to others.
How Childhood Trauma Can Disrupt Developmental Progress
What Is Meant By Childhood Development?
We can define childhood development as a complex process of developing competences and attaining achievements from early childhood through to adolescence / early adulthood. These fall into the following main categories : – physical
– emotional
– social
– intellectual / cognitive
– moral
Young Child :
During early childhood developmental tasks include :
building a sense of trust
learning to separate from parents (e.g. when starting school)
learning to adapt to peer group
learning to adapt to authority figures
development of feeling of safety away from the home
How the child is affected will depend upon the timing of the trauma (and its adverse consequences) and at which stage of the developmental process the child is at at this time. Depending upon this timing the child may develop problems relating to attachment (such as reactive attachment disorder, disorganized attachment disorder or insecure attachment), separation anxiety, psychosexual issues and social issues such as problems with peer relationships. However, any of the developmental tasks referred to above may be adversely affected.
If traumatic experiences coincide with critical developmental transitions, such transitions may be jeopardized ; how these ill-effects manifest themselves is subject to great variability – see below :
development may be interrupted
development may be delayed
development may be arrested (e.g. a traumatized teenager’s emotional development might get stuck at, say, thirteen)
the child may regress to an earlier stage of development (e.g. a toilet trained toddler might start having accidents)
a developmental stage may be accelerated /Â the child may undergo precocious development
Mastery :
Mastering these stages / developmental tasks are necessary for an emotionally and psychologically healthy adult life, and, because they require much psychic energy are largely dependent upon a safe, stable, supportive and nurturing environment.
eBooks :
Above eBook now available for instant download from Amazon. Click here for further details or to view other titles.
To purchase van der Kolk’s book/eBook, click on image below:
Childhood Trauma : Some Important Facts And Statistics
Flashbacks Memory And The Prefrontal Cortex
What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) ?
The Manipulative Parent
Four Types Of Borderline Mother
Enabling Fathers And Narcissistic Mother
The Still Face Experiment
Dysfunctional Families Types And Effects
Childhood Trauma The Effects of Bullying
Childhood Trauma, Depression And Learned Helplessness
Arrested Psychological Development and And Age Regression
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