It is estimated that 60% of adults have experienced childhood trauma of some sort. 64% of adults report having an ACE, Adverse Childhood Experience. Children often do not tell about the incident for many reasons, including being afraid of getting into trouble, shame, guilt or self blame about the events; fear of the offender, fear of getting the offender into trouble, or self blame. Some children do not understand that what happened was wrong. What do children have to compare and for this reason these incidents rarely get reported.
This may cause years of stress quietly carrying the secret of the family dynamics or of the traumatic event itself. Either subconsciously or not you may not even process the traumatic event. Avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms such as excessive alcohol, drugs as they may hinder the healing process. Or if you are currently using these tools consider seeking professional support.
There are some available therapies specifically designed to assist with processing and repair the mental injury, EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing is one or Internal Family Systems (IFS) is another. Both allow your brain to process the event in a safe environment.
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