physical or emotional trauma during childhood.
Childhood trauma is a scary experience. Whether it’s from physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or emotional neglect, it’s still abusive. And it can be the start of a very addictive life.
Abuse can mean a wide variety of things. A parent, guardian or caregiver can cause injury, death, emotional harm, or risk of serious harm to their child. With an early stage of abuse, children tend to find ways to cope with their thoughts. One of the ways they find an escape from their life is through drugs or alcohol.
A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
Through several types of research studies, there is a strong correlation between child abuse and drug/alcohol abuse that happens later on in life. But, sometimes parents and guardians don’t realize that they are abusing their children. Many people don’t understand that abuse can happen physically and emotionally.
Examples of Emotional Abuse
- Name Calling
- Mocking
- Ignoring
- Guilt Trips
- Humiliating/Embarrassing
- Neglecting
- Telling Them You Don’t Love Them
- Telling Them to Kill Themselves
- Throwing Shade
Examples of Physical Abuse
- Scratching
- Pushing
- Hitting
- Slapping
- Throwing
- Pinching/Biting
- Chocking
- Beating
- Pulling Hair
Abuse at any age can be extremely traumatizing. It’s also one of the leading reasons that someone begins taking drugs or drinking alcohol. It’s a coping mechanism that makes it so they don’t feel sad anymore. But the problem is, there are other ways to cope with those issues. Drugs and alcohol are so addictive and it causes more problems in the end.
How to Cope with Child Abuse
- Talk about it. Find a friend, family member or counselor and talk. Talking about your past abuse can help unravel the emotions you’re holding in.
- Understand unhealthy coping strategies; using drugs, drinking excessively, impulsive shopping, overeating, fear of intimacy, and more.
- Talk to your Doctor. If you’re experiencing headaches or sores around your body, it could be treated differently if your Doctor knows about your history. Mentioning that you were abused as a child will help your doctor give you the right prescriptions.
- Research about child abuse. Reading articles and books about it will help you understand what you went through. It will also help you with resources to help guide you through life as a survival.