Parents and teachers aren’t surprised when toddlers burst into tears because they are frustrated or disappointed. Temper tantrums are common place among young children who haven’t learned to use words to express their feelings. Most children are easily redirected, and by school-age know how to keep their feelings in check.
Not true for children who continue to have meltdowns well beyond early childhood. The depth of their rage is frightening to observe. It seems to come from nowhere, and is close to impossible to contain. Understanding where it comes from requires a closer look at the relationship between language and behavior.
Memories of early childhood are stored in the right hemisphere of the brain. Unlike memories of later times in life, they are encoded nonverbally. There are no words to label or explain these first memories. They cannot be discussed or verbally interpreted. When they include trauma or other serious adversity, survivors are “haunted by an unnarrated past” (Bloom & Farragher, 2011).
The condition is called alexithymia. It explains a lot about the behavior of explosive children.
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