How Childhood Trauma Can Lead to Anxiety Later in Life
About 70 percent of children experience at least one traumatic event before the age of 18. Worldwide, the most common mental health issue is anxiety disorders. These two daunting statistics are associated in that childhood trauma can lead to anxiety both immediately and later in life. Even a casual look at the causes of childhood trauma (see below) can be enough to recognize how this correlation has come to be.
Trauma often involves a betrayal of trust. It can happen suddenly, and it can also be a sustained experience. Victims of trauma can feel that no escape is possible and come to believe that no one is coming to save them. Trauma survivors, therefore, can have an anxious perspective on the world and create many coping mechanisms in the name of feeling secure. Ironically, this can end up making them feel perpetually unsafe.
What Types of Experiences Can Cause Childhood Trauma?
Trauma is unique to each person, and no one can or should be judged for what does or does not traumatize them. That said, here are some universal experiences that most commonly result in trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) in children:
Neglect and abandonment
Death of a loved one
Losing a loved one through separation, divorce, incarceration, etc.
Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse
Enduring a crime, a natural disaster, or living in a war zone
Living in a home with substance use, domestic violence, illness, injury, and disability
Sexual exploitation, trafficking, and prostitution
Common Signs of Traumatic Stress in Children of Different Ages
Preschool: acting out, crying spells, tantrums, nightmares, separation anxiety, and eating issues
School age: inability to focus, expressing feelings of shame and guilt, and sleep problems
Middle school to high school: risky behaviors, self-isolation, and self-harm
In all three age groups, anxiety is typically present and endures into adulthood.
Why Childhood Trauma Can Lead to Anxiety Later in Life
Lack of Structure or Reliable Caretaking
A major component of child trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is unpredictability. In our earliest years, we crave reliable care and caregivers. If that doesn’t happen, it can be traumatizing and, no matter what, cause anxiety disorders.
Hyper-Awareness of Physical Sensations and Situational Changes
When you’re victimized by abuse, neglect, an accident, or any number of dangers, you become hyper-vigilant. Far more than others, you learn how to tune into sensations and changes all around because such elements could portend cancer.
Impact on the Brain
Trauma can change anyone’s brain. When the victim is a child, things can get far more complicated. Instead of getting the nurturing attention needed to facilitate healthy development, a child who endures ACEs undergoes structural changes in their brain. Left unchecked, these changes can cause future impacts like:
Relationship problems
Fear of abandonment
Suppressing one’s emotions or being unable to relate your emotions
A far greater risk of physical illnesses, from cancer to heart disease to diabetes and beyond
Difficulty in managing stress
A tendency toward self-harm
Higher risk of depression
Chronic anxiety disorders
Good News: Trauma and Anxiety Can Be Treated, Managed, and Resolved
You did nothing to cause trauma in your childhood. You’re not to blame for the outcomes, and for it still impacting you as an adult. However, you absolutely can get the help you need and deserve from trauma-informed counseling. You’ll get to work with an experienced guide who can support you as you recover from past hurts and the anxiety it has caused.
Contrary to how you feel right now, you can heal and thrive. It all begins with you reaching out to make contact as soon as possible.
