If you’re dealing with addiction and co-occurring disorders like anxiety, PTSD, or depression, past trauma is often the root cause. You may not even be aware of this underlying trauma in your life. Believe it or not, the source of your issues could be from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) decades ago. So how can you figure out if ACEs trauma from your past is responsible for your current challenges today? Let’s explore how, and what you can do to finally achieve healing.
Understanding ACEs Trauma
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines trauma as an event or circumstance resulting in physical, emotional, and/or life-threatening harm. Consequently, you can struggle with different types of trauma from one specific instance or multiple occurrences through time. And when you experience childhood trauma, ACEs are often the culprit.
ACEs are traumatic and stressful events that happen to you between ages 0 and 17, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Common ACEs you may have encountered include:
- Substance use at home
- Parental separation or divorce
- Living with someone who has a mental illness
- Having a relative in prison
- Emotional or physical neglect
- Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse
- Witnessing domestic violence or abuse
- Homelessness
- Having a family member attempt or die by suicide
The Enduring Effects of ACEs Trauma
When you experience ACEs trauma, it can hinder your development as a child. This then causes a damaging ripple effect throughout your life. Ongoing toxic stress from ACEs trauma hurts brain development, the body’s stress response, and the immune system. And the collateral damage can be widespread, including:
- Reduced learning skills and educational development
- Poor decision-making
- Limited job prospects
- The inability to form stable, healthy relationships
ACEs trauma can also interfere with your ability to regulate your emotions. That means when stress, negative feelings, and difficult experiences arise, you don’t typically respond in a healthy way, making you more vulnerable to addiction. This emotional dysregulation can also increase the potential for mental health challenges, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Symptoms of ACEs Trauma (Even Repressed Trauma)
As you’re reading this, you may be painfully aware of your ACEs trauma. Or, it can be harder to identify because you may have no memory of the traumatic event. This may be because your brain intentionally blocked out traumatic memories from your past as a way to cope. That means ACEs you previously experienced can actually be repressed trauma. Though you can’t remember it, however, it still can affect your life in subtle ways. Here are some signs of repressed childhood trauma that you could be experiencing today:
- The inability to cope well with routine, everyday stressors
- Wide emotional shifts
- Unhealthy attachments
- Strong, unexplainable reactions to certain people
- Childish reactions
- Chronic exhaustion
- Anxiety
- Uneasiness in certain situations or places
Other indicators that you may have ACEs trauma include:
- Low self-esteem
- Impulsive or self-destructive behavior
- Mood swings
- Trust issues
- Social isolation
- Hypervigilance
- Relationship difficulties
- Flashbacks
- Sleep disturbances
- Intrusive memories
Does This Sound Familiar? Take Our Free ACE test
You may feel concerned if any of the above ACEs trauma warning signs seem familiar. But, you may still be unsure if you’re struggling through the effects of childhood trauma today. If so, we have a free resource that can help: our ACE test.
Our free ACE test identifies and totals your past adverse childhood experiences. The assessment contains 11 short yes or no questions. You should be able to complete the test in just a couple of minutes. While it doesn’t replace a licensed therapist’s official diagnosis, the results generated can indicate the potential for ACEs trauma in your life. If you’re ready to find out if childhood trauma could be the source of your current struggles, take our ACEs assessment here.
What if You’re Struggling With Childhood Trauma and Addiction?
If you do believe you’ve been dealing with unresolved childhood trauma, know that you’re not alone. In fact, over 60% of US adults have dealt with ACEs at some point in their lives, according to a study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. However, it’s important to take steps to address this unresolved trauma and free yourself from its grip. Otherwise, it could lead to mental health disorders and addiction.
If you have developed an addiction as a result of your past trauma, it’s key to get professional help for your trauma alongside your addiction simultaneously. Partnering with a dual diagnosis treatment center can help you heal your past trauma and overcome your addiction for good.
At Sana at Stowe, our rehabs in Vermont provide some of the best dual diagnosis treatment in the country. If you’re ready to break free from unresolved trauma, addiction, and any co-occurring mental health disorders, call us today or take our free ACEs assessment as a first step.
