Why Trauma Survivors Experience Lasting Symptoms
Trauma is said to be something experienced with our whole selves. In The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk states, “We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on the mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present.”
During the formative years, children begin to establish a sense of self and identity by interpreting their experiences, making conclusions about their self-worth, and then construct a narrative about the world from those experiences. As the brain continues to develop into adulthood, those core belief systems create structural changes in the brain through the formation of neuropathways and become the foundation to how they see themselves, form relationships, and react to situations.
For example, when a child is raised in a supportive and nurturing environment with clear boundaries, consistent routines, and respectful communication, they can interpret the world as being safe, establish trusting interdependent connections, and tend to be flexible with their expectations. They may also form healthy core beliefs, such as: “I am ___” (e.g., capable, smart, strong, lovable, etc.). Unfortunately, sexual abuse can misconstrue how the child sees themselves, view the world, and relate with others. When sexual trauma is experienced, the child may then make conclusions that “I can’t trust anyone,” “it’s my fault,” “I am ___” (e.g., bad, worthless, dirty, unlovable, a burden, damaged, powerless, weak, a failure, inadequate, etc.).
When these destructive conclusions become the child’s misperceived reality, all future experiences get filtered through this belief system, which may then lead the individual to feel sad, anxious, ashamed, fearful, confused, and lonely. Sometimes, in an attempt to manage these uncomfortable emotions, an individual attempts to cope by engaging in unhealthy behaviors (e.g., substance use, risky sexual behavior, disassociation, emotional numbing, self-harm, sleeping too much, eating disorders, etc.). When an individual uses these maladaptive coping behaviors to deal with triggering situations and distressing emotions, neuropathways are again strengthened.
