Why childhood trauma can explode in adulthood

Question: I am 47 years old and thanks to doing psychoanalysis I was able to understand why I had emotional ups and downs for no apparent reason and problems enjoying my sexual life. Thanks to therapy I was able to discover how events from my childhood that I had neither meant nor remembered had affected me. (ZC de V., San Isidro)

We all have a past that, whether accepted or not, conditions our lives. For this reason, childhood is a very relevant stage since every physical or psychological experience It will leave lasting marks on a mental and cerebral level.

Therefore, any childhood traumatic situation will inexorably affect the child in the present and will permeate the development of his or her future personality.

What is a traumatic event? According to the Institute of Mental Health it is: “Every emotionally painful or distressing event that a child experiences and that produces lasting effects on his or her personality.”

It must be taken into account that a child has few resources and skills to face difficult situations and little capacity to process the negative event that he or she has to experience.

Childhood traumas do not resolve on their own -or they rarely do-, so they must be attended to by specialists both for their present resolution and to protect future evolution.

Since they are always subjective events, what is traumatic for one child may not be traumatic for another. It will depend on the characteristics of its development, available attachment bonds, from the environment and their own strengths to overcome.

It is worth keeping in mind that in many cases the child may feel an event as traumatic and adults may not have a record of it.

The most traumatic events are those caused by another human being – rather than by accidents of various natures. and even more so if they come from those who should take care of it since the child will experience a confusing situation if he finds in the same person who must take care of him the person who harms or harms him.

It is common to associate trauma with physical abuse or sexual abuse. And although in reality they are – and very serious – There are also other experiences, perhaps more frequent and more difficult to detect.such as abuse, excessive demand, abandonment, neglect, contempt, lack of appreciation, lack of care, bullying, among others.

Sometimes symptoms do not appear immediately after the traumatic event and, due to repression or denial, remain “hidden” for years or decades until a certain situation reactivates them.

It is difficult to know the real prevalence of traumatic situations in childhood since Many of them are usually not detected as they occur in the family environment.

The shame experienced by the victim, the young age at which they occur, the dependence on the abusive adult himself or the consequences that may entail are usually factors that make it difficult to report or recognize them.

As relevant information, it is estimated that between 35 and 55% of adults who suffer from mental health problems have some history of trauma of a physical or sexual nature during childhood – whether conscious or unconscious – and which are subsequently expressed in a wide range of symptoms that include:

anger, irritability, unexplained mood swings, low self-esteem, depression, anguish, anxiety, panic attacks, unmotivated fears, sexual problemssubstance use, eating disorders, somatizations.

Precisely from this arises the need for early attention to any traumatic event in childhood.