Everyone talks about getting over trauma and PTSD. Obviously It’s not good to have all this baggage, But what exact behaviors do adults exhibit when suffering from trauma? (I.E. low self esteem from critical parents)
Edit: Follow up question, why are people who suffer from trauma more likely to develop drug addictions?
In: Biology
I’m going to come at this from a more biological perspective that I hope could be interesting.
First, trauma and stress during childhood can affect many systems that affect: mood and attention regulation, stress reactions, aggression suppression, empathy etc. I can also cause some unhealthy models of other people and especially abusive parents can cause even the adult brain to have twisted values and ideas of how to treat others. A study of convicts in the US shows an alarming majority that had some form of abuse in their childhood.
When looking at habits, there is interesting research being done. One paper I read recently talk about the connection between Corstisol and decision making. When we are stressed (and childhood trauma can lead to chronic stress), our body releases cortisol. Cortisol can work like a switch for our brains to become less long-term goal oriented, and rely more on habits. One test that was done was on rats that where chemically stressed (by inducing a cortisol-similar substance). These rats were given a reward (food) when pulling a lever. Unstressed rats started pulling the lever much slower as they were getting full. But stressed rats kept pulling and eating for much longer at a higher rate, even as they got full. This is a normal test for seeing if rats are goal oriented or mechanically acting out of habit. Same has been shown in humans. Habit-controlled behaviour is one of the reasons we get addicted. Combined with an increase likelihood of trying drugs to numb bad feelings, and you have a lot of addiction.
Hope this makes sense!
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