How does childhood trauma and PTSD relate?

Research has shown that children who experience early childhood trauma, abuse or neglect are more likely to go on to develop profound and long-lasting mental health problems in adulthood, such as ‘complex PTSD’.

What is developmental trauma disorder?

It is known as developmental trauma or Complex PTSD. Developmental trauma is the result of seeming invisible childhood experiences of being mistreated or abused that have been repeated many times. These cumulative experiences could involve verbal abuse, neglect or manipulation by a parent.

How trauma is stored in the body?

The energy of the trauma is stored in our bodies’ tissues (primarily muscles and fascia) until it can be released. This stored trauma typically leads to pain and progressively erodes a body’s health. Emotions are the vehicles the body relies on to find balance after a trauma.

What emotional trauma does to the brain?

It perceives things that trigger memories of traumatic events as threats themselves. Trauma can cause your brain to remain in a state of hypervigilance, suppressing your memory and impulse control and trapping you in a constant state of strong emotional reactivity.

What happens in a Brainspotting session?

Brainspotting (BSP) allows clients to guide themselves through their own subconscious. They choose what issue they’d like to start with. Then, they explore in and around it with only light guidance by their therapist. This method uses fixated, steady eye positions.

Can an abusive parent cause PTSD?

On the one hand, the experience of parental emotional abuse itself may be of such a traumatic nature that it may directly lead to the development of PTSD symptoms, such as intrusions, nightmares, avoidance (‘direct model’).

Can you get PTSD from an abusive parent?

The research shows that children and young people who are victims of emotional abuse by their parents usually report the most severe post-traumatic stress symptoms. This means that these symptoms are more severe than those experienced by victims of other types of abuse, including physical abuse and neglect.