A psychologist has identified 14 ways childhood trauma can show up in adulthood, including not trusting yourself to make decisions.
dr Lalitaa Suglani, a Birmingham-based psychologist, shared the information in a post on Instagram, where she has more than 110,000 followers.
In the Post, she said that experiencing childhood trauma while growing up “can have lasting effects and creep into adulthood; Your relationships, career and how you cope with everyday life”.
dr Lalitaa added that childhood trauma “can be subtle and nuanced, or even so routine as to almost seem normal.”
dr Lalitaa Suglani, a Birmingham-based psychologist, has revealed how experiencing childhood trauma while growing up can have a significant impact on the rest of your life (stock photo)
She explained, “Knowing how the trauma shaped her life may be difficult, but understanding what happened can offer a path to healing and inner peace.”
She continued, “Healing is a process and looks different for everyone.
dr Lalitaa shares 14 ways childhood trauma can show up in adulthood
1. You strive to be perfect and overthink everything.
2. You are afraid of failure.
3. You blame or feel ashamed of your past choices and mistakes.
4. You worry excessively about what others will think of you.
5. You don’t trust yourself to make decisions.
6. You suffer from constant negative self-talk that you believe to be true.
7. You struggle with self-compassion and self-forgiveness.
8. You are always critical and hard on yourself.
9. They seek outside validation to feel accepted.
10. You struggle with feeling anxious all the time.
11. You are overly sensitive to criticism from others.
12. You are afraid of change and uncertainty.
14. You believe that you are not worthy and that you are never good enough.
15 You find it difficult to accept compliments.
“It’s not about pointing fingers and blaming our attachments, but perhaps developing self-awareness and understanding, and then making choices that support your needs.
“Things that can help are identifying your unmet needs, understanding anger, checking in with yourself, developing self-care habits, using your emotions as a guidance system, and recognizing what you need to calm in the present moment.”
dr In her post, Lalitaa listed the 14 ways childhood trauma can show up in adulthood and started with striving to be perfect and thinking over everything.
She added to the list that she is afraid of failure and blames or is ashamed of herself for her past choices and mistakes.
According to the psychologist, childhood trauma can also show up in adulthood when you worry too much about what others think of you and don’t trust yourself to make decisions.
Other possibilities she included in her post were suffering from constant negative self-talk, which you believe to be true, as well as struggling with self-compassion and self-forgiveness.
dr Lalitaa added that she is constantly self-critical and hard on herself, seeking external validation to feel accepted on her list.
The final pathways included in the summary of the 14 struggled with constantly feeling anxious, overly sensitive to criticism from others, and fearful of change and uncertainty.
Finally, she said, childhood trauma can also show up in adulthood, when one feels unworthy, never good enough, and finds it difficult to accept compliments.
The psychologist made an important point in the post’s headline, adding a personal message.
She wrote: “I have gone through life without realizing that my emergence in the world was a direct result of my childhood trauma as I never acknowledged it as ‘trauma’ and that is why understanding your past is so important. “
Many people responded to the post and shared their experiences with the signs the psychologist talked about
People took to the comments section to share their feelings about the characters sketched in the post, with one writing, “Wow I said yes to every single one of these!”
Another agreed, adding: “That hits home.”
And another commenter wrote: “Your caption is so helpful Lalita and yes, childhood trauma can be subtle and nuanced.”
However, another respondent shared a more optimistic message, revealing: “It’s so good to read this list and be able to say ‘Not anymore!’ to the majority of them and ‘hmm…sometimes!’ to a couple doing the work set me free, thank you for these contributions which have been an integral part of my growth.’
Continue reading:
Psychologist: This is what the three most important SMS styles say about your personality – from fear of abandonment to over-sensitivity
How needy are YOU? Psychologist reveals the 4 attachment styles — and they all have roots in your childhood
Are you heading towards burnout? The psychologist reveals the four signs to look out for