Often trauma can be associated
with emotional or physical injury or abuse; however, did you know that complex
trauma occurs and impacts children all over the world every single day?
What is complex trauma? It is a trauma that defines children’s
exposure to more than one type of traumatic event. Neglect or abuse generates instant and long
term emotional injuries; however, other types of trauma make a huge impact on a
child’s life as well. The witnessing of
domestic violence, parents who are suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, war,
the child welfare system or a combination of any of these can cause complex
trauma.
The fundamental ability to feel
comfortable in social situations, in close personal relationships and the
ability for self-regulation can be irrevocably damaged in a child who has
suffered from more than one type of trauma.
This in turn leads to more traumas and or addiction and other
psychiatric problems. Many of these
children will be diagnosed with:
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleep disorders,
defiant disorder (ODD), separation or reactive attachment disorders, eating
disorders, anxiety disorders, or combinations of these afflictions. Damage to the growth and development of the
child is always present with complex trauma, and the most damaging circumstance
involves the absence of a consistent nurturer and care giver. When chaos is a constant, the child cannot
use the energy needed for development and growth, but must use it to survive
instead. A secure and nurturing
environment is important for the child to learn a sense of safety, the ability
to regulate emotional and physical states, his or her capability for
influencing his or her world, and for crucial communications. All of these things become problematic for
the child who suffers from complex trauma.
Fundamental stress capabilities are greatly reduced and the integration
of left and right hemisphere brain function is impaired in such a way that a
child does not have the ability to access rational thought in the face of
overwhelming emotion. The IQ, reasoning,
intuitive and perceptive abilities of the child are damaged along with the
ability to create healthy interpersonal relationships.
Rage, withdrawal, and or tremendous feelings
of helplessness take over, and the stressors create deficits in the child’s
ability to self- regulate and to be self-soothing. Because of these difficulties, they may
display dissociation, chronic numbing and avoidance of emotional experiences
both good and bad, maladaptive coping strategies (alcoholism, sexual or drug
abuse), depression, and other problems managing stress. Many victimized children have been shown to
cultivate aggressive behavior and oppositional defiant disorder. Feelings, thoughts and physical perceptions
become detached outside of consciousness, causing disassociation. In other words, overwhelming stressors have
created a defensive mechanism that cascades into repetitive problems for a
child’s future. In order to gain mastery
and control, negative automatic behaviors such as alcoholism, drug dependence,
aggression, the use of sex in order to create a sense of intimacy and many
other maladies that have a negative impact on the individual’s life become the
norm.
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