Childhood Trauma Isn’t Just the Result of Being Abused. It Can Also be Due to:
- Being left to “fend for yourself” when you needed safety and security
- Having your feelings invalidated and denied
- Being forced to “self-soothe” alone and find an escape from your painful reality (e.g. video games)
- Having to hide your “true self” because it wasn’t accepted by those you craved to be understood by
- Having your parents consistently prioritize themselves (or their work) over yourself
- Feeling like you have to compete/prove yourself to receive the love and attention you sought
I attended many, many (22 I think?) group therapy weekend workshops with approximately 16 people per class (so, a sample size of 352’ish people), and it was really interesting the collection of issues. Some people had experienced the worst abuses imaginable, while a few had issues that seemed much less impactful, and everything in between. What I learned is that we each struggled similarly in our relationships and with our overall happiness and well being. For example, one person was dealing with living in her rock star brother’s shadow her whole life. On the surface, this seemed so much less damaging than those who had been seriously abused from within their family of origin. But in the end, both had similar challenges. Above all, I witnessed the benefits of a communal, safe, respectful, unconditionally accepting environment on us all. Just sayin’ :) Hugs and good luck. XO
Blessings,
Chatgirl
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