"Complex Trauma"
Complex trauma: Children's exposure to multiple traumatic events and wide-ranging, long-term impact of this exposure. These events are severe, pervasive, and often einterpersonal, such as abuse or profound neglect. They usually begin early in life, may disrupt many aspects of the child's development, and interfere with the child's ability to form secure attachment bonds. Many aspects of a child's healthy physical and mental development rely on this primary source of safety and stability.
Children with complex trauma have overactive alarm systems, where their alarm system "goes haywire." Their brains are always looking out for danger, and often they think safe situations are dangerous. For example, they may jump at any noise such as a toilet flush, wake up everytime they hear a neighbour's dog barking, and their hearts may pound when they see another child being pushed in the playground. This is because they have "trauma reminders", false alarms that remind them of their traumatic events.
Trauma Reminders
Trauma reminders (also known as "triggers") make a child re-live a frightening event from the past. They can even be reminded of traumas that happened even before they could understand or talk about them!
Ketchup may remind a child of the blood she saw when her father hit her mother
A book dropping off a desk may remind them of gunshots
Packing suitcases may remind a child of the day he was taken from his mother's home and placed in foster care
Arguing may remind them of seeing their father beat her mother
Feeling alone and overwhelmed may remind the child of how they felt while being sexually abused
Complex Trauma Affects the Way the Child Sees the World
Children with a complex trauma history may:
Believe that the world is and always will be an unsafe place
Have trouble depending on a caregiver or other adults such as teachers or police officers to keep them safe
Have trouble building/maintaining relationships--approaching them with distrust
Overreact or feel completely betrayed by minor misunderstanding or squabble with a freind
Respond negatively to seemingly positive events such as praise, intimacy, or feelings of peace. A child who lacks experience of and memory for happy and safe times may not understand or be comfortable with such feelings.
How Complex Trauma Changes a Child's Thinking
Children with a complex trauma history may:
Have trouble developing skills and learning due to the amount of mental energy being spent reacting to trauma reminders
Have trouble focusing and seems distracted because they are always on guard and scanning the environment for danger
Nervous, emotionally intense, frequently flooded by overwhelming and unbearable emotions
Seem "shut down" and numb--unable to experience or express any emotion
Afterwords...
If you are someone who has complex trauma and its symptoms, I strongly recommend that you reach out for help. Life can be better, but you do not know what better looks like until you take a step forward.
