If you're a survivor of trauma, you can have great relationships too. There are a lot of quotes out there about how you can't love someone else until you love yourself or that you have to be ready to have a relationship, but that's not the truth.
Those partners who experience a trauma at the same time may cope with the trauma in different ways, and those coping skills may strengthen or destroy relationships. The good news is that it is very possible for spouses or families to grow closer and stronger after trauma.
Cognitive Signs of Unhealed Trauma
You may experience nightmares or flashbacks that take you back to the traumatic event. Furthermore, you may struggle with mood swings, as well as disorientation and confusion, which can make it challenging to perform daily tasks.
A strong foundation of support for loving a trauma survivor is rooted in belief, acceptance, communication, removing yourself from the equation, and remembering to maintain your well-being, so that you can better participate in your partner's healing process.
Whether the trauma was physical, sexual, or emotional, the impact can show up in a host of relationship issues. Survivors often believe deep down that no one can really be trusted, that intimacy is dangerous, and for them, a real loving attachment is an impossible dream.
If you've experienced trauma, you can live in the world with a sense of meaning and purpose, control over your life, and positive self-worth. It's possible for you to have healthy relationships after trauma.
Clingy Behavior in the Context of
Taking into account the causes of clinginess, it becomes clear that this behavior is often the result of attachment trauma – not receiving the closeness, comfort, and security a child needs to feel safe.
Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion, physical arousal, and blunted affect. Most responses are normal in that they affect most survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-limited.
Relationship PTSD, or post traumatic relationship syndrome (PTRS), is a form of traumatic stress caused by abusive or unhealthy relationships. Relationship trauma can cause lasting damage to self-esteem and make it difficult to form close, healthy relationships with others.
Adults who have experienced childhood trauma often have heightened anxiety levels. They may worry excessively and have trouble managing their anxiety. Childhood trauma can lead to persistent feelings of sadness, lack of interest in activities, and difficulty experiencing pleasure.
You might have difficulties trusting, low self-esteem, fears of being judged, constant attempts to please, outbursts of frustration, or social anxiety symptoms that won't let up. Can childhood trauma be healed?
Don't dismiss their experiences.
For example, don't tell them not to worry about things or that it could be worse – this isn't usually helpful to hear. Try to remember that people can't choose what they find traumatic or how they're affected.
A study of young adults found that childhood trauma was significantly correlated with elevated psychological distress, increased sleep disturbances, reduced emotional well-being, and lower perceived social support.
Childhood trauma can impact relationships because we learn about emotional bonds early in life. So, when people we depend on for survival hurt us or aren't present, it can impact how we view human connection. Age can play a role, too. Our brains develop rapidly from newborn to toddlerhood.
Validate their feelings, and show your support to them. You'll be surprised to see the power of just being present for another person, which is often underestimated. Your partner must harness the inner resources to recover from their trauma. However, you need to allow them time and space to recover at their own pace.
Childhood trauma-related mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, can take a toll on your relationships as an adult. Left untreated, these conditions make it impossible for your relationship to grow.
Yes, in some ways, having childhood trauma in your past can create obstacles to intimacy in a partnership. In other words, the level to which one feels comfortable with their partner can be negatively impacted by their past experiences.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.
The PTSD from past relationships can manifest as self-blame and decreasing self-worth, so one may rationalize that they don't deserve to be in a healthy relationship. This is just the PTSD warping into intrusive thoughts. Self-medication is a common coping mechanism in many mental health conditions.