Do You Have ACEs Trauma? Find Out Here

Past trauma is often the culprit behind addiction and mental health disorders, believe it or not. It can also cause physical health challenges in your life, too. If you’re struggling, your underlying trauma may not be as obvious. In fact, it could be the result of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) way back in your formative years. So how can you determine if you have ACEs trauma from your past that’s driving your current issues today? We’ll show you how—and what you can do to find healing. 

What is ACEs Trauma?

Trauma happens when you experience very stressful, frightening, or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or out of your control, according to Mind.org. There are actually different types of trauma that are associated with one specific event or ongoing events over time. When trauma happens in your childhood, ACEs are usually to blame.  

ACEs are potentially stressful or traumatic events that occur between ages zero to 17, shares the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These experiences can also simply undermine your sense of safety, stability, and bonding as a child. Real-life examples of ACEs can include:

• Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• Physical or emotional neglect
• Living with someone who has a mental illness
• Growing up with an incarcerated relative
• Witnessing your mother treated violently
• Substance use in the home
• Divorce or parental separation
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide
• Experiencing homelessness

The Long-Term Impact of ACEs Trauma

ACEs trauma can be particularly damaging as it impacts your development as a child, causing long-term ramifications that affect you into adulthood. The CDC shares that trauma from your childhood can limit your education and job potential, for example. Toxic stress due to ACEs trauma can negatively affect your brain development, immune system, and stress-response system, too. Not only does this harm your learning and decision-making skills, it can damage your ability to form healthy, stable relationships throughout life. 

ACEs trauma can also hurt your emotional regulation skills. Because you’re unable to handle stress, difficult experiences, and negative feelings in a healthy way, you’re more vulnerable to developing addictions. Your emotional dysregulation tendencies can even lead to mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

ACEs Trauma Warning Signs

While an awareness of ACEs trauma may be obvious for some people, for others it may be harder to identify, especially from memory. You can actually experience memory loss as a result of ACEs trauma as your brain attempts to cope by blocking out harmful memories of adverse childhood experiences from your past. That means the trauma from your childhood becomes repressed memories without your awareness. 

Even if you can’t wholly remember your childhood trauma, it still negatively affects your life. Some signs of repressed childhood trauma include:

• Strong, unexplained reactions to specific people
• Uneasiness in certain places
• Extreme emotional shifts
• Attachment issues (such as anxious-avoidant attachment)
• Anxiety 
• Childish reactions
• Consistent exhaustion
• The inability to cope with normal stressful situations

 

Beyond the indicators that you may have repressed ACEs trauma, there are additional warning signs to look out for, such as:

• Relationship challenges
• Constant hypervigilance
• Self-destructive or impulsive behaviors
• Mood swings
• Difficulty trusting others
• Social isolation
• Low self-esteem
• Flashbacks, intrusive memories, and sleep disturbances

Do You Have Concerns? Take Our Free ACE Test

If any of the above ACEs trauma warning signs sound familiar, it’s understandable to have concerns. But if you’re still not sure if childhood trauma is impacting your life as an adult, we have a resource at Integrative Life Center that can give you more clarity: our ACE test. 

This free ACE test will take inventory of any adverse childhood experiences from your past. This assessment includes 11 yes or no questions and only takes about one to two minutes to complete. Though it won’t replace an official diagnosis by a licensed mental health professional, your results can indicate the likelihood of ACEs trauma in your life. If you’re ready to find out if childhood trauma could be the reason behind your struggles, you can take our childhood trauma (ACE) test here. 

What Should You Do if You Have ACEs Trauma? 

Research has shown that 60% to 80% of American adults have experienced at least one ACE in their lives, shares the Cleveland Clinic. This same study revealed that 1 in 6 individuals have experienced at least four ACEs, as well. If you think you may be one of the many adults struggling with ACEs trauma, what can you do about it?

First of all, it’s important that you actually take action to address this trauma in your life. Otherwise, it can continue to negatively impact your life (and even get worse), leading to potential addiction and mental health disorders. The best thing you should do if you’re concerned is to seek professional help. By partnering with a trauma treatment center, you can finally heal from your past trauma, as well as any addiction or mental health conditions. 

Get the Help You Need at Integrative Life Center

Don’t let ACEs trauma continue to define your life. At Integrative Life Center in Nashville, TN, our trauma treatment program can help you process and finally heal from the effects of childhood trauma. Take our free ACE test as a first step or contact our team today to get started. 

The post Do You Have ACEs Trauma? Find Out Here appeared first on Integrative Life Center.

source https://integrativelifecenter.com/mental-health-treatment/do-you-have-aces-trauma-find-out-here/