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How to Heal from Childhood Trauma

How to Heal from Childhood Trauma (10 Tips). 3 Research-Based Therapies for Childhood Trauma.

Childhood trauma has lasting effects even in adulthood. It can impact your life and you just want to grow out of it. How can we do that? Keep reading to explore:

  • Effects of Childhood Trauma 
  • How to Heal from Childhood Trauma (10 Tips)
  • 3 Research-Based Therapies for Childhood Trauma 
  • And more! 

Effects of Childhood Trauma 

How to Heal from Childhood Trauma

From a psychological point of view, a child experiences trauma when something severe happens that threatens or hurts his or her physical and mental health. 

Childhood trauma can affect a child in so many ways. 

Research tells us that childhood trauma hurts physical health, brain development, learning, social and emotional development, the ability to form safe bonds with others, and brain development.

Childhood trauma is also more likely to cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than trauma that happens as an adult. 

In general, how children respond to trauma is going to depend on the type of trauma, the child’s personality, family, and neighborhood, as well as the total balance of risk and protective factors in their lives.

Related: Stages of Healing from Trauma

How to Heal from Childhood Trauma (10 Tips)

How to Heal from Childhood Trauma

1.Acknowledge and Recognize Your Trauma

One way to start healing from childhood trauma is to think about how what happened to you as a child might affect your life now. Studies done on military veterans show that self blame can even extend into adulthood and impact your life. 

You can’t start to heal until you accept that something bad did happen and that you weren’t to blame for it. 

2.Link Your Present with Your Past

We now know how significantly childhood trauma can affect our lives even as an adult. 

So let’s take a step back and think about it. Dr. Andrea Brandt has a wonderful take on helping you understanding childhood trauma and work on your healing journey:

Think about something that has been making you feel strongly about it lately.

It is likely that your emotional reaction to the current situation is caused by your childhood trauma. Understanding this link helps you recognize patterns in your behaviors. 

3.Be Mindful

Mindfulness studies have been shown to lower feelings of depression and anxiety in both general populations and adults who have been through traumatic experiences. 

Mindfulness has also been shown to improve mood and coping, and make people’s quality of life better. Such treatments also improve emotional, behavioral, and physical outcomes in children and teens.

Try to incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Related: Guide to Religious Trauma Therapy in NYC

4.Consider a New Way of Remembering Traumatic Experiences

Persistent feelings of helplessness can continue into adulthood, leading to a victim-mentality and a loss of control. 

When you were a child, you may not have been able to do much about the situation. But let’s not forget that you have grown, and have more power and control. 

Those painful memories can’t affect you like they did. 

5.Modify Your Language 

Lindsay Braman, a psychotherapist, greatly advocates that using person-first language (such as “people who have experienced trauma” instead of “trauma victims”) is preferable. 

In a way, it can help those who have suffered trauma preserve or develop an identity that does not center on the traumatic memories they have experienced.

6.Accept It 

Acceptance can actually lead the way to post traumatic growth after experiencing childhood trauma.

It may be difficult, but it is important to accept the possibility that some people—including your main caregivers—may have failed to meet your needs or shielded you from danger, whether on purpose or by accident.

7.Reach Out for Social Support 

A lot of research has shown that social support can help people deal with stressful events.

Being with friends, family, or support groups can make someone feel less alone and help them deal with the effects of a traumatic event in their youth.

Related: What is Emotional Trauma?

8.Have a Regular Sleep Schedule 

Disrupted sleep is a common symptom of trauma related concerns. Having a regular sleep schedule will help you feel less overwhelmed in general. 

9.Eat well

Individuals who experience trauma are often seen to have an unhealthy diet such as eating fast food and drinking sugary sodas. This can lead to other health issues in the future. 

A well-balanced diet can help your emotional health and give you extra energy to deal with stressful and traumatic events.

10.Get Professional Help 

If things are overwhelming for you, never hesitate to reach out for professional help. 

Therapy can help a person change how they think about their thoughts, skills, and behaviors, as well as find good ways to deal with the effects of stressful events that last a long time.

3 Research-Based Therapies for Childhood Trauma 

How to Heal from Childhood Trauma

1.Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), is a type of therapy that helps people who are having trouble with traumatic memories.  

Related: Role of Self-Compassion in the Healing of Trauma

During EMDR treatment, the client looks at disturbing recollections in short bursts while focused on something outside of themselves.  

Research shows that EMDR treatment results in a quick drop in depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. 

2.Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral treatment (TF-CBT) helps kids, teens, and families who are dealing with the mental health issues caused by a traumatic event in their childhood. 

The care is especially sensitive to the problems that teens and young adults with PTSD and mood disorders have had because of sexual abuse, as well as abuse from violence, physical abuse, or loss. 

3.Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy

The special form of treatment called trauma-informed expressive arts therapy was created by Cathy A. Malchiodi and can help kids who have been through trauma. 

Neurodevelopmental studies and elements of the arts form the basis of this type of therapy.

Conclusion

To heal from childhood trauma, you should recognize and accept what happened, be aware of how it affects you now, practice mindfulness, reframe traumatic memories, change the way you talk about them, get social support, stick to your sleep and diet routines. 

You can think about professional therapy, such as EMDR, TF-CBT, and trauma-informed expressive arts therapy.

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