Complex Trauma: What This Is And The Causes
When working with my clients, I often marvel at how many of them were forced to survive their childhoods, rather than really being allowed to grow up. Some were neglected or abused, some grew up in dangerous and unsafe neighborhoods. Many of them look at having endured those hardships as a badge of honor—and rightly so!
What they don’t realize is that they’re often also suffering from Complex Trauma. Repeated physical and emotional stress during periods of development influences how our brains grow. Different areas of the brain become hyper-attuned to signs of danger, sometimes at the expense of our ability to regulate emotions. Our attention to detail at the moment is heightened, while our long-term memory is impacted negatively.
Origins of Complex Trauma
At its core, Complex Trauma is a condition of chronic stress. When a person experiences traumatic events, their body produces stress hormones—the natural human fight-or-flight response—which are there to improve our odds of surviving a dangerous encounter. In an abusive situation, those stress responses can be unpredictable and surprising. Parents are all-too-human, and their own emotional issues and traumas may lay the groundwork for wild tempers, blowups, and instability.
School can also be another place where Complex Trauma forms. Unhealthy friendships, prolonged or particularly traumatic encounters with bullies. Almost always, Complex Trauma is the product of unaware caregivers.
Physical Impacts of Complex Trauma
Even with all the advances in what we know about trauma, it’s still popular for many people to assume that individuals suffering from trauma should “get over it” — as if it were that simple. In reality, the impact of Complex Trauma is far-ranging and physiological. Repeated or prolonged exposure to stress hormones directly impacts the areas of the brain involved in memory, decision making, and emotional regulation.
The impacted areas include the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. These physical changes can be observed with MRIs. Complex Trauma leads to changes in how we perceive the world around us, how we gauge threats to our physical and emotional safety, and how we deal with them. It isn’t as simple as getting over it, or putting it behind you.
Long-Term Behavioral Impacts of Complex Trauma
One of the most tragic aspects of Complex Trauma is the way it tends to compound over time. An abusive or traumatic period turns into a survival scenario, in which the brain compensates by priming the system for conflict, confrontation, and danger. This becomes a chronic-stress condition, where the body is always ready to hit that button to produce more stress hormones to help get through a scary situation. Those same stress hormones that helped us get through our childhood get us into trouble as adults—they also take a serious toll on our physical and emotional health.
Emotional Symptoms
Mood Swings
Emotional Outbursts
Hypervigilance
Difficulty Sleeping
Risky Behaviors
Attachment Disorders
Lack of Focus
Memory Problems
Depression
Anxiety
PTSD
Physical Symptoms
Skin Conditions
Weight Gain \ Loss
Joint \ Back Pain
Migraines \ Headaches
Fatigue \ Lack of Energy
Digestive Issues
We are unbelievably complex, delicately balanced creatures—with brains capable of evolving and adapting to our surroundings in order to help us survive. But those tools that helped us survive an abusive or troubling time in our lives don’t always serve us. As we get older, it’s important that we learn how to restore the feeling of safety and security that we lacked as a child.
Getting Help
After reading this, you might be feeling overwhelmed. If Complex Trauma is a malady of the brain, how can it possibly be fixed? The good news is that it is not some scar that can’t be healed. God made our brains capable of extraordinary feats of healing. Difficult as it may be to imagine, there are alternatives to a life of chronic stress and hypervigilance. You do not have to let your past control your future.
If you think you might be suffering from Complex Trauma, please reach out for more information. Real and meaningful changes in your life are possible. Let me help you understand how to resolve the pain you’re still carrying with you.