The Lasting Effects of Childhood Trauma on Adult Mental Health

Childhood events and experiences shape the trajectory of our lives as we grow into adulthood, for better or worse.

It’s all well and good when those experiences are positive and nurturing, but what happens when the opposite occurs?

According to research, individuals who experience childhood trauma, also called adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), are far more likely to develop mental health issues like anxiety and depression in later life.

They are also more prone to substance abuse, difficulties with emotional regulation, and persistent relationship challenges.

This article explores the lasting effects of childhood trauma on adult mental health, including treatments and approaches that can help you recover and move forward with your life.

Before we begin, if you would like more information about the effects of childhood trauma and would like to understand more about the treatment options available to you, know that our professional team in South Africa is here to support you every step of the way.

How we can help

White River Manor offers a range of individualised, trauma-informed treatments designed to help you reprocess painful experiences and regain control over your life without your past holding you back.

These programmes, including EMDR therapy (eye movement desensitisation reprocessing), trauma-specific therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), have been proven to be effective in releasing stored trauma from the body, allowing you to reframe your past experiences in new, more empowering ways.

Speak to a specialist today to learn more and begin your journey to lasting wellness and transformation—the life you were always meant to live.

Let’s get started.

The lasting effects of childhood trauma on adult mental health 

While positive experiences in our early years can help us grow into resilient, healthy adults, traumatic events during childhood, such as neglect, abuse, or household dysfunction, can have long-term psychological and physiological implications.

These effects don’t just disappear or fade with time – they continue to impact us in ways we are often unaware of, usually in the form of low self-worth, chronic shame, substance use, and other detrimental outcomes that continue long into adulthood.

As well as the above, there are various other ways childhood trauma can affect our mental health in later life, including:

1. Emotional regulation issues

Traumatic events that occur during childhood can disrupt healthy development and brain function, impacting a person’s ability to regulate emotions and behaviours effectively.

If children aren’t taught how to adequately control their emotional responses by their parents or their caregivers are unable to mirror positive regulation skills themselves, this can lead to intense mood swings and extreme difficulty managing stress in adulthood.

Trauma survivors often struggle with regulating their emotions, and this can come in the form of heightened sensitivity to perceived threats, social withdrawal, uncontrollable anger or rage, and even emotional numbness as a way to protect themselves.

Those grappling with emotional dysregulation must find healthy ways to get a handle on their emotions so they can avoid further complications to their health, relationships, and other aspects of their lives.

Emotional dysregulation goes beyond simply feeling things on a deeper level.

It’s a persistent struggle to manage emotional responses, often leading to intense, unpredictable responses that may seem out of proportion to the situation. 

Think of it like a malfunctioning thermostat, unable to maintain a stable temperature. This is what daily life can feel like for someone navigating emotional dysregulation.

The symptoms of emotional dysregulation can present in different ways. 

Some individuals may experience sudden and overwhelming waves of anger or sadness that seem to arise out of nowhere. 

Others might feel emotionally ‘stuck,’ unable to shift their mood even when external circumstances change. 

On the other end of the spectrum, some may struggle with emotional numbness, feeling detached or disconnected from their emotions altogether.

Recommended treatments for emotional dysregulation often include cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and dialectical behaviour therapy.

These treatments can help you explore and address unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns that no longer serve you and are causing chaos and distress in your life. 

Additionally, these approaches can help you find balance and control so you can begin to feel better and recover.

2. Increased risk of anxiety and depression

It is common for trauma survivors to struggle with a combination of different mental health challenges due to a problematic past.

The most prevalent mental health disorders that accompany childhood trauma tend to be anxiety and depression.

Unresolved emotional wounds or unattended trauma from childhood can lead to chronic stress, trust issues, and persistent negative thought patterns in later life. 

Common symptoms of anxiety and depression due to childhood trauma can include:

• Chronic fear and worry can include persistent feelings of dread or impending doom that are often unrelated to the present situation.

• Hypervigilance: Feeling anxious or on edge, as if danger is always near (even when there is no evidence of danger or threat in your environment).

• Panic attacks are acute or sudden episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms like sweating, rapid heartbeat, or shortness of breath.

• Difficulty trusting others. 

• Overreacting to stress: Minor challenges or mishaps can feel overwhelming and may trigger extreme emotional responses, such as anger or rage.

• Chronic shame and low self-worth: Trauma survivors often experience deep-seated shame about their past, blaming themselves for what happened even though it wasn’t their fault. This can lead to persistent low self-esteem and self-worth issues.

• Self-destructive behaviours: This may include substance abuse, self-harm or other unhelpful coping mechanisms.

Researchers have found a strong link between childhood trauma and mental health issues like anxiety disorders and depression.

One of the findings suggests that individuals with higher ACE scores, meaning those with several adverse childhood experiences, were at significant risk for mental health challenges like PTSD, substance use disorders, and anxiety and depression in adulthood.

Other studies found that individuals with a history of childhood trauma tend to struggle with feelings of worthlessness, shame, and a heightened sense of worry and fear.

Addressing these challenges through personalised mental health treatment and trauma-informed therapy can help individuals process their experiences, build resilience, and move forward in life.

3. Higher risk of substance abuse and addiction

As previously mentioned, individuals who experience childhood trauma—such as abuse, neglect, or abandonment—are at a higher risk of developing substance use disorders in adulthood, including alcohol and drug addiction.

Many trauma survivors turn to substances to cope with painful memories and emotions as a way to self-medicate.

Extensive evidence highlights the profound link between childhood adversity and the development of substance use disorders in adulthood, with trauma survivors being more likely to engage in addictive behaviours as a way to numb or escape unresolved emotions.

It is essential for individuals struggling with trauma-related substance abuse to seek professional help from a multidisciplinary team that offers holistic care and treatment tailored to these challenges.

Many rehabilitation centres nowadays provide co-occurring disorder treatment that incorporates a range of therapies and approaches, such as behavioural therapy, trauma-informed treatment, and experiential methods, such as yoga and mindfulness, to help individuals integrate their experiences in more healthy, empowering ways.

Blending various therapeutic frameworks and approaches is key, as it can help trauma survivors find peace, acceptance, and recovery – something that standalone treatments cannot achieve, at least not in the long-term.

4. Increased likelihood of PTSD and C-PTSD

Another lasting effect of childhood trauma, perhaps the most prevalent in this client group, is complex trauma, also called C-PTSD or complex PTSD.

While PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is associated with specific traumatic events, usually one-off incidents like a car accident or a physical assault, childhood trauma, particularly repeated or prolonged trauma, can lead to complex PTSD.

The following symptoms and behaviours characterise this condition:

• Emotional dysregulation.
• Difficulty with self-identity or a weak sense of self.
• An inability to feel safe in your body or the world around you.
• Dissociation, where you may feel disconnected from yourself and/or others.
• Flashbacks related to the traumatic event you experienced.
• Persistent feelings of guilt and shame.
• A lack of trust in yourself and others.

A report published in OxJournal explains how our nervous systems react to stressful situations and what we can do to restore balance.

‘When in a stressful situation, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. However, high exposure to a trigger can interfere with the nervous system’s ability to bring the body back to a calm state (Orchestrate Health, 2023).

The brain and nervous system work together to protect someone from danger by putting the body into a fight-or-flight state.

Once the threat is gone, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for using hormones to slow down the frantic response and relax the body (DBT & Mental Health Services, 2020).

This is called the window of tolerance, which is when a person can self-regulate after a stressful situation. The window of tolerance is the most effective state of arousal or stimulation for a person to function’ (DBT & Mental Health Services, 2020).

Individuals need to learn practical techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation, to help them return to a calm and regulated state after a stressful event or crisis. 

This can help prevent the long-term health complications of constantly being in fight-or-flight mode, including a weakened immune system, digestive issues, and cardiovascular problems.

5. Challenges in building and maintaining healthy relationships

Another common side effect observed in those with a history of childhood trauma is persistent challenges in their relational lives.

Early adversity can disrupt the development of healthy attachment styles, leading to profound mistrust in relationships later on.

The OxJournal report stated that:

‘Childhood maltreatment can result in various adverse consequences, including the development of mental illnesses and maladaptive attachment styles.

Adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment tend to experience interpersonal relationship difficulties (Shahab et al., 2021).

Findings of a study by Colman and Widom (2004) show that adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment form less stable connections and relationships than those without such histories’ (From Childhood to Adulthood: The Impacts of Trauma on Anxiety Disorders, OxJournal).

Trauma survivors must cultivate a healthy support system of family, friends, and community to help them stay connected, allowing them to draw on the guidance and care of others as they navigate recovery.

The bottom line

Childhood trauma isn’t just something we can bury and leave in the past; it tends to play a central role in our choices, emotions, and behaviours in the present, leading to lasting effects on our mental health and overall well-being.

However, recovery is possible with the right self-awareness, coping mechanisms, and support.

With the help of a trauma-informed professional, you can learn to see beyond your past, work through your experiences, and build a healthier, more fulfilling life.

If you or someone you care about is grappling with the effects of childhood trauma, professional help and support are available and can make a significant difference.

Individual therapy, support groups, and holistic healing can help you break free from the grip of early trauma and move beyond these experiences toward emotional health and well-being.

Contact our specialist team at White River Manor today to learn how we can help you do just that.

Remember: recovery is just a phone call away.