Our culture likes to idolize childhood. All imagine it as a time of perfect innocence, of uninterrupted joy. For many of us, however, the reality of childhood was far different. Indeed, in a 2019 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of 144,000 American adults, it was found that more than 61% had suffered at least one traumatic event in their childhood.
These traumas, which psychologists refer to as adverse childhood events (ACE), may include anything from parental neglect and substance abuse in the home to physical, sexual, and emotional violence.
Despite the myriad forms in which childhood trauma may occur, however, there is one commonality linking them: every adverse childhood event leaves its mark on the mind and spirit of the child. Perhaps even more tragically, those marks can linger well into adulthood. In fact, many adults may not even realize that they are experiencing the aftermath of childhood trauma.
The good news, though, is that ACE-related trauma does not have to rob you of your happiness, undermine your quality of life, or sabotage your future. Help and hope, however, may come in some fairly unlikely places. Today, for example, a wide array of digital apps have been introduced at low or no cost to support those seeking help for trauma.
Understanding ACE-Related Trauma
One of the greatest obstacles to overcoming ACE-related trauma is simply how difficult the trauma can be to recognize. By the time traumatized children grow up, they often believe that they have “gotten over” or healed from the hurt. They may not even consciously recall the event.
That does not mean, though, that the effects do not remain. Brain imaging studies have shown, for example, that key brain structures develop differently in traumatized and non-traumatized children. Moreover, neuroimaging suggests that these developmental differences are comprehensive, not localized.
More specifically, research suggests that trauma impacts both the prefrontal cortex, which is the site of executive function, information processing, and logical thinking, as well as deep brain structures, including the hippocampus and limbic system, which are responsible for emotion regulation and memory.
This means that when you experience childhood trauma, your ability to think rationally, manage your impulses, and control your emotional responses, particularly fear and anxiety responses, may be compromised well into adulthood.
How ACE-Related Trauma Manifests in Adults
Though the long-term impacts of childhood trauma may not be recognized by the adults experiencing them, that does not mean they are not there. Indeed, trauma may manifest in seemingly innocuous ways.
For example, you may find yourself unable to cope effectively with stress. You may become hyperreactive to stressors or, on the other hand, you may become avoidant, turning to drugs or alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate.
Similarly, if you are burdened with unconscious memories of unresolved trauma, you may find yourself actually pursuing stress rather than avoiding it.
You may work excessively to avoid the fact that you are depressed and anxious even when you are not working to excess. Recognition of this fact would almost certainly lead to the recognition that you are dealing with unresolved childhood trauma.
Seeking Diverse Channels of Support
Though the effects of ACE-related trauma may linger, they do not need to be a life sentence. There are a number of approaches adults can use to help them manage and even overcome their traumatic past.
The ascendancy of telemedicine during the pandemic era has proven particularly beneficial for those seeking mental health support. Every day, new mental health apps are being introduced, including those specifically designed to help users manage trauma-related triggers.
Apps to Manage Stress and Learn to Live Healthfully
When you have experienced a traumatic childhood, it can be easy to get stuck in survival mode, even if you don’t realize that that’s how you have been living. Mental health apps can be a powerful tool for helping you to identify destructive trauma-related patterns of thought and behavior.
For example, affirmation and gratitude apps can help you learn to manage stress by shifting your focus from the negative to the positive, from all that worries or hurts you in your life to all that nourishes and lifts you up. The more skilled you become in recognizing and validating the good, the better able you will be to see the world not as a place of danger but as a realm of hope and promise.
Similarly, relaxation and meditation apps can help reduce the anxiety and panic that often relate to repressed traumatic memories. The Calm app, for example, offers a host of tools, from guided meditation to rhythmic breathing training to curtail stress responses and promote tranquility.
The Takeaway
Not everyone has had the blessing of a peaceful and happy childhood, but that doesn’t mean that you have to carry the burden of childhood trauma for the rest of your life. An array of highly effective digital apps is now available to help you or someone you love reduce or even eliminate ACE-related trauma triggers.
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