Early developmental traumas

Most of us believe that trauma is only related to big events such as war, physical violence and big accidents.
Unfortunately, trauma is more common than we think. It can indeed be related to single big events and how our system respond to them, but it can also be a result of repeated occurrences in crucial developmental stages.

Here are a few examples of early traumas that are often misunderstood and overlooked:

• Children who survive abortion attempts.

• Being born prematurely

• Loss of twin in the womb

• Surgical procedures early in life (dental, eye surgery, Tonsillectomy etc...)

• Adoption

• Death of a caregiver

Developmental/attachment trauma, can mean physical abuse and basic physical needs not being met.

But it can also mean:

• Lack of emotional connection between child and primary caregivers.

• Having a caregiver who suffers from mental illness and emotional difficulties.

• Growing up in an environment that feels unpredictable and/or unsafe.

In utero difficult experiences is also rarely talked about.
Issues such as having expectant mothers who are suffering from anxiety, poverty and other stresses. Unborn babies with mothers in these circumstances “bathe” in cortisol, adrenaline and other stress hormones while developing in the womb. These conditions signal to the new life that the environment that he/she is gonna be born into is unsafe. The baby’s body, with its infinite intelligence, uses these signals to develop a nervous system and a biology that match the environment they need to survive in.

People who have gone through these early difficult experiences can look ok on the surface and often cope for many years, as they develop survival strategies. Many live in a functional state of freeze/shutdown, as children have no capacity to fight or flight, so the only options are to fawn/freeze/shutdown. But as life stressors pile up and/or certain triggers appear, the cracks start to show.

Many studies show correlation between unresolved trauma, chronic illness and auto immune conditions.

It’s crucial to raise awareness on how early life development can interfere with health and well being. There is much hope in treatments, specially when combined with interventions that address the incomplete protective responses “stuck” within the nervous system.