Trauma; Its Effect on Childhood Development and Adulthood

February 16, 2022
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Trauma; Its Effect on Childhood Development and Adulthood

With each passing day in Nigeria, many children are faced with trauma which could come in various forms with a statistic of about 6 out of 10 children, and only a fraction of these kids receive help! On the other hand, quite a number of Nigerian adults also go through the same.

Traumatic events may include, physical, sexual, emotional abuse during childhood, while during adulthood, it may include witnessing personal assault such as physical or sexual violence, illness, death of a loved one and many more. It is no surprise that a traumatic event in an individual’s life can have negative effects that may linger on for a long period of time.

LET’S TALK TRAUMA LEVELS!

Different individuals experience and react to trauma in various ways. For some, it may seem quite easy to get over the traumatic trigger, while for others, it may take months, even years as the case may be. Trauma may be less severe, or extreme and the more extreme it gets, the more difficult it is to manage.

EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA. A MUST KNOW!

Childhood is a crucial phase in life where an individual is most active in terms of developmental growth. Thousands of connections or activities happen within the brain at the same time during the phase of childhood, and a slight change in how the body responds to events may affect development. How does it happen? The brain and the body co-work together. Just as a foam absorbs liquid, the body and brain absorb whatever the environment throws at them. In order words, if a child grows up surrounded by a toxic-free environment filled with love and happiness, automatically, signals are sent to the brain by the body to adapt and establish a healthy relationship with the environment and people around. When trauma happens, the brain deviates from the “learning mode” and switches to the “survival mode”.

CONSEQUENCES OF EXPOSURE TO TRAUMA IN THE EARLY YEARS

Traumatic responses to events can either be physical or emotional for children as the case may be. These responses can cause serious threat to the lives of children if not properly handled over a period of time and may spill into adulthood. These include;

Learning difficulties: with the way the brain gets adjusted to traumatic events usually negatively impact how the affected individual learns. People who are traumatized may find it difficult to learn, interpret and understand basic things.
Behavioral problems: individuals who have been traumatized suffer from certain behavioral issues such as, anger, irritability, feeling disconnected from people, feeling unsafe and always finding it difficult to trust others, self-harming, increased risk of criminal acts.
Mental health problems: these include, Intrusive memories/flashbacks, depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal attempts, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many more.
Malnutrition (not limited to undernutrition): people who have been traumatized are likely to suffer from certain health concerns. For some, they may indulge in overfeeding and consuming foods high in calories, added sugar and sodium which can lead to obesity, and in the long run predispose these individuals to certain diseases like high blood pressure problems, blood sugar level issues, liver problems, and many more. While on the other hand, some individuals may find it difficult to eat or establish a good relationship with food which may lead to chronic weight loss and a poor immune systems.
Abuse of substances: while faced with traumatic incidents, affected individuals may result in self-medicating certain OTC drugs, excessive abuse of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and the likes.