Childhood Trauma And Anxiety :
Anxious personality types often result from childhood trauma. Research has shown that there are 7 major factors which influence the way our personalities develop. These are:
– the way in which we are disciplined in childhood
– our place within the family e.g. birth order/sex
– the kinds of role model we had as children e.g. parents
– the belief system of the family we grew up in
– our genes/biochemical makeup
– the social and cultural influences we experienced as children
– the particular PERSONAL MEANING that we attach to each of the above
There are many ways that the above factors can interact to produce a personality dominated by anxiety in adulthood. Below are some experiences, directly related to the above factors, which can contribute towards us developing an anxiety disorder in adulthood:
1) AN ANXIOUS PARENT OR ROLE MODEL: one way in which children are programmed to learn by evolution and develop their personalities is by a process referred to by psychologists as MODELLING (copying the behavior of role models, either consciously or unconsciously). It follows that a role model who frequently displays intense anxiety is likely to lead to the child adopting a similar manner of behaving and responding.
2) RIGID BELIEF/RULE SYSTEMS: if the child’s role models (especially parents) have a rigid belief system, perhaps deriving from their culture or religion, the child may develop inflexible and ‘black and white’ thinking styles which can frequently become a source of anxiety in later life.
Additionally, if a child lives in a highly chaotic environment, due, for example, to parental mental illness or substance abuse, s/he may learn to develop a rigid set of rules to give him/herself some sense of security and stability. Again, carrying such rigid rules into adult life can often lead to high levels of anxiety.
3) CHILD ABUSE: abuse, during childhood, too, frequently leads to the abused child developing problems related to anxiety in adult life. The types of abuse which may occur include: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect (physical and/or emotional), and cruel and unusual punishment.
4) ANXIETY RELATED TO SEPARATION AND LOSS: a child may be separated from a parent or carer for extended periods of time, due, for example, to the following events:
– a parent/carer going into hospital for a long time
– divorce
– death
If the child DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY the parent/carer has become absent, this can be especially anxiety inducing.
A more subtle, but, equally damaging, form of separation a child may experience is if the parent/carer is PHYSICALLY PRESENT BUT IGNORES/FAILS TO INTERACT MEANINGFULLY with the child.
5) REVERSAL OF PARENT-CHILD ROLES: for a significant part of my childhood, starting at around the age of 11 years, this was the situation that I found myself in. Essentially, I became my mother’s personal counselor, permanently, it seemed, on call ( I’m surprised she didn’t provide me with a pager). Indeed, at this stage in my childhood she began to refer to me as her ‘Little Psychiatrist.’ A child may also find him/herself having to adopt a parental role for many other reasons; for example, parental substance abuse, parental absence etc. When the child, by necessity, in order to survive, takes on responsibilities with which which s/he is not old enough to cope, this can lead to a number of anxiety-linked personality traits; these may include: ‘black and white’ thinking, suppression of feelings, unrealistically high levels of self-expectation, and a deep need to have control.
Reversal of parent-child roles is sometimes referred to as PARENTIFICATION.
Other childhood experiences which may lead to an anxious personality type in adulthood I list below:
– highly critical parents/carer
– overprotective parents/carer
– parental/carer pressures placed on child to suppress/deny his/her own feelings.
CONCLUSION:
We learn, then, certain ways of coping and behaving when faced with difficult childhood experiences; the problem is, however, that carrying these ways of coping and behaving into adulthood is often unhelpful; this is because, as adults, we are frequently presented with an environment to deal with which is very different from the environment we needed to deal with as children – we therefore need to adapt our behavioural responses to the new environment, in order to function in it effectively.
THE POSITIVE NEWS is that, as adults, it is possible to MODIFY OUR PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS (which previously led to anxiety) and to learn new, more appropriate, ways of thinking and behaving, adaptive to the new, adult environment into which we are inevitably plunged. One therapy which research has shown can be particularly effective in treating anxiety which has its roots in childhood is called COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT).
RESOURCE :
Overcome Fear and Anxiety | Self Hypnosis Downloads
ALL OTHER ARTICLES ON ANXIETY :
- Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn? Trauma Responses
- Fifteen Ways To Overcome Anxiety
- ‘Fighting’ Anxiety can Worsen It: Why Acceptance Works Better.
- Anxiety : Personality Characteristics Which May Intensify It.
- Anxiety, Self-Harm And Suicide: The Statistics
- Childhood Trauma : Defense Mechanisms Resulting from Stress.
- Childhood Trauma And Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
- Childhood Trauma Leading To Compulsive Skin Picking
- Childhood Trauma Leading To Social Isolation As Adult
- Does Trying To Relax Paradoxically Increase Your Anxiety?
- Effects Of Unpredictable Stress
- Health Anxiety : Its Link To Childhood Trauma
- How Childhood Trauma Can Make Us Constantly Hypervigilant
- How To Deal With Fear
- Hypnosis For Simple Phobias
- Insecure As Child? Were You Suffering From Separation Anxiety?
- Is Your Anxiety Caused By Hyperventilation? A Look At The Science.
- Metacognitive Therapy for Anxiety and Depression.
- Physical Brain Differences In Those Who Suffer Severe Anxiety.
- Simple Questions We can Ask Ourselves to Reduce Anxiety
- Ten Methods For Reducing Anxiety
- The Different Types of Anxiety Disorder
- Why We May Severely Over-react To Minor Stressors.
RETURN HOME TO ABOUT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA RECOVERY
David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).