Written by: THE BALANCE
Medically reviewed by Dr. Sarah Boss, MD
Last updated: February 5, 2026
Fact checked
Quick Summary
  • Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, and no matter how big or small, it can easily threaten physical, emotional, or intimate security.
  • Childhood trauma, in particular, can have prolonged effects on physical health and may even lead to the development of several mental health disorders, including addictions.
  • Undergoing one or more traumatic experiences during childhood may leave scars on the minds that fail to leave so easily.
Reading time: 10 min

Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, and no matter how big or small, it can easily threaten physical, emotional, or intimate security. Childhood trauma, in particular, can have prolonged effects on physical health and may even lead to the development of several mental health disorders, including addictions.

Undergoing one or more traumatic experiences during childhood may leave scars on the minds that fail to leave so easily. Such trauma often follows people for the rest of their lives, affecting their behaviours, emotional responses, and thought processes. If you have been struggling with the lingering effects of childhood trauma, it is crucial to undergo a trauma-focused treatment program at once to begin recovery. (source: WHO, 2024 (Violence against children))

Children, especially those at a very young age, are not equipped to deal with intense forms of trauma. Their mental and emotional states are still in the developmental phase, so when they encounter a traumatic event, it changes the way their brain functions. The type of trauma determines how it affects a child and their life. Some common childhood trauma examples include:

  • Emotional or physical neglect
  • Sexual, psychological, or physical abuse
  • Verbal abuse
  • Bullying

In many cases, the traumas that children undergo do not occur as a single event, and they may continue to endure it for several years before they finally escape. Unfortunately, until then, the experience is most likely to have left a permanent mark on their developing brain, the effects of which continue for decades until treatment is sought. [2]

Most children are not good at understanding or sharing the emotions they feel after encountering a traumatic event. Consequently, their parents or loved ones may notice unexpected changes in them. These changes may occur at three different levels explained below.

Physical Changes

When a child encounters a traumatic event, it impairs their physical development. The stress that comes with the trauma may negatively affect their central nervous system regulation and immune development, making it harder for them to achieve their true potential. (source: NICE, 2018 (PTSD guideline))

Evidence investigating the consequences of childhood trauma indicates that such children are more likely to encounter certain chronic diseases later in life. These chronic diseases may include stroke, diabetes, asthma, and coronary heart disease. In addition, repeated exposure to childhood trauma also puts one at a high risk of pulmonary diseases and even cancer.

Mental Health Changes

Childhood trauma is capable of negatively impacting mental health as well. Some psychological effects may manifest as emotional distress, anger control issues, depression, and psychotic episodes. Some children who experience more complex forms of trauma may develop dissociation, a phenomenon that mentally separates them from any experience. They may routinely imagine themselves leaving their physical bodies and watching them from somewhere else or developing memory gaps. (source: NCBI, 2023 (Dissociation))

 The prevalence of suicide attempts in childhood trauma survivors is also extremely high. (source: FindTreatment.gov, 2024)

Relational Changes

The relationships a child shares with their parents, grandparents, or primary caregivers are critical for their physical and emotional health. The attachment these children develop with their guardians is what helps them learn how to trust others, manage emotions, and interact with the world around them.

When such children undergo a trauma that shatters their trust in their caregivers, they may perceive the world around them as a scary place with dangerous people in it. This concept makes it difficult for them to establish relationships, even in their adult lives. They may struggle with romantic relationships and have less satisfying marriages even when they are still in the newlywed phase. (source: CDC, 2024 (ACEs))

One of the many signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults is the presence of a co-existing mental health disorder. Some of these mental health disorders that may commonly occur as a consequence of experiencing trauma in childhood include:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a mental health disorder due to witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. A child unable to cope with the trauma often adopts a survival mode and stays there until he reaches childhood. Such children commonly develop multiple physical, relational, and emotional symptoms of PTSD. (source: NIMH, 2024 (PTSD))

Acute stress disorder

Acute stress disorder is quite similar to PTSD, with the only difference being that the former symptoms usually manifest within the initial 30 days of trauma. Also considered a prolonged state of shock, the disorder may exhibit a depressed mood or nervousness following a traumatic trigger.

Alcohol or drug addiction

Addiction is one of the most apparent indications of the connection between childhood trauma and mental health issues. Substance abuse may hit an individual as early as adolescence and possibly continues into adulthood. If not treated, the addiction tends to worsen with each year, and the trauma survivors use it to cope with the emotional pain associated with their childhood. [8]

Reactive attachment disorder

Children who develop reactive attachment disorder cannot show any emotional responses in circumstances where being emotional is expected. They appear to care very little about general things in life and have no underlying emotional triggers.

In the 1990s, experts identified ten of the most traumatic experiences or events likely to trigger childhood trauma in individuals. The consequences of these events are devastating and, in the absence of suitable trauma therapy, could negatively impact the sufferer throughout their life. These traumatic events include: [9]

  1. Growing up in a home where one or both parents or caregivers go to prison
  2. Growing up with a guardian or parent who chronically abuses alcohol or drugs
  3. Spending childhood with a parent diagnosed with a mental health illness, such as depression or schizophrenia
  4. Experiencing emotional abuse from parents. This can be of any type, such as unavailability of parents due to long working hours or living with parents who routinely demean or verbally abuse you
  5. Witnessing the mother being emotionally and physically abused by their partner
  6. Growing up with physical neglect, i.e., not being provided for in terms of clothes and food
  7. Living with emotional neglect, for example, parents fail to respond to or notice your feelings
  8. Losing a parent or a primary caregiver due to divorce, abandonment or death
  9. Experiencing sexual abuse from parents, other children, family members, or anyone else in a position of power or authority
  10. Experiencing physical abuse, either by parents who may use it to discipline you or by any other authoritative figure outside

A lot of children experience repeated instances of many of the above examples. However, remember that the list is not exhaustive and does not include many potential causes, such as experiencing natural disasters during childhood. (source: WHO, 2021 (Child maltreatment))

Childhood trauma can happen in different ways, and the symptoms it produces may vary from person to person. Hence, it is vital to undergo a careful screening by a mental health professional. The expert can prescribe an individual treatment plan tailored to your needs through this screening. The treatment plan to successfully manage childhood trauma symptoms includes:

Trauma-Focused Therapy

These therapies help individuals manage the mental illness caused by childhood traumas through different steps. Clients can learn more about their trauma, understand what triggers it, and learn healthy coping mechanisms to reduce its symptoms. (source: MedlinePlus, 2024 (Child abuse))

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT empower patients by helping them learn how to process and cope with their early childhood trauma healthily. To establish this goal, a therapist works closely with clients to retrain their thinking patterns.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR) Therapy

EMDR is particularly beneficial for those who have been through some kind of trauma in childhood or adult life. It helps patients process the distressing memories associated with a childhood trauma by changing how their brain stores them. Qualified therapists make use of directed eye movements to unlock damaging behavioral and emotional patterns and replace them with healthier ones. (source: NCBI Bookshelf, 2024 (Dissociation))

Family Education and Therapy

This type of therapy involves the trauma survivor’s family members and close friends to educate them about their loved one’s struggles. Additionally, some rehabs allow them to actively participate in recovery therapies and help them learn how to best support the trauma survivor.

Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques

Holistic and alternative therapies are commonly offered in many rehabs offering childhood trauma treatment. These techniques include meditation, exercise, yoga, equine therapy, acupuncture and more. [13]

If you or a loved one has been exposed to any sort of trauma in childhood and is now struggling to live their lives due to its lingering effects, it’s time to get help now. Join a suitable rehab center catering to childhood trauma survivors to begin your recovery today.

FAQs

What is the relationship between childhood trauma and mental health?
A child’s brain is adaptable and can quickly change itself to meet the needs of a new environment. This plasticity enables it to absorb maximum critical information during trauma. As a result, many children successfully hide the harmful behavior they absorb from a dangerous situation through fear. In case of undergoing repeated trauma, the brain undergoes physical changes, such as an alteration in the size of the hippocampus, an area of the brain regulating memory and learning. Due to these permanent changes, the mental health of the affected child begins to deteriorate. Even when such children enter adulthood, their brains have adapted to adverse environments, making negativity a standard norm for them.
Is there a connection between childhood trauma and addiction?
Discerning a connection between childhood trauma and addiction is not always easy. The association between these two factors in adults are pretty clear, such as misusing painkillers after an accident or drinking too much after getting fired. However, when it comes to children, the trauma they endure usually remains unresolved as they bury them deep inside their minds without seeking mental health care. The human brain is a highly adaptive organ that can respond and alter itself according to whatever someone experiences in life. However, despite this extreme flexibility, it sometimes needs help to recover. Otherwise, the factors that negatively alter it, such as childhood trauma, may affect it for life. It may lead to sensitivity to certain topics, inappropriate reactions to specific situations, and even the development of addictions.
Can people heal from unresolved childhood trauma and addiction at the same time?
When you are struggling with childhood trauma and addiction at the same time, it becomes imperative to seek treatment for both. Focusing solely on managing childhood trauma symptoms in adults without paying attention to the simultaneous addictive behavior will only complicate the recovery process. Moreover, the symptoms of the untreated addiction will keep pulling you down throughout your entire treatment program. For such people, the conventional trauma therapy program is of no use, and instead, they must seek a rehab that offers dual diagnosis treatment. Contrary to trauma therapy, which focuses on one mental health problem at a time, dual diagnosis programs aim to treat co-occurring disorders together for a better recovery.

The Article

+

References

+

About This Article

+

Do you need help?

Sister Topics

Abandonment Trauma Abandonment Trauma and PTSD ADHD Vs PTSD Attachment Trauma Best PTSD Treatment Centers Best Trauma Treatment Centers Betrayal Trauma Recovery BPD vs. CPTSD Childhood Emotional Neglect Childhood Trauma Childhood Trauma And Addiction Childhood Trauma Therapies Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder COVID-19 PTSD CPTSD vs. PTSD Developmental Trauma Disorder Does PTSD Go Away Fawning Trauma Healing Generational Trauma How is PTSD and Traumas Treatment How to Break a Trauma Bond How to Deal with PTSD How to Deal with Trauma How to Heal From Emotional Abuse How to Stop Dissociating People Pleasing Trauma PTSD And Dissociation PTSD And Marriage Breakdown PTSD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD and Traumas Treatment PTSD Awareness Month PTSD Episodes PTSD From Emotional Abuse PTSD Inpatient Treatment PTSD Statistics PTSD Test PTSD UK Signs You Are Healing From Trauma Trauma And Epigenetics Trauma Counseling Trauma Recovery Center Trauma Residential Treatment Program Types of Trauma Vicarious Trauma What are the Symptoms and Triggers of Betrayal Trauma What is Boarding School Syndrome What is Trauma & PTSD What is Trauma Bonding What is Vicarious Trauma What To Do After Successful Recovery From PTSD What to Do When Someone With PTSD Pushes You Away