The Impact of Childhood Trauma on the Brain
In today’s blog post, I want to take a closer look at the impact of childhood stress and trauma on the brain.
Every child experiences stress at some point in their lives. Perhaps you moved schools and found it difficult to make new friends or performed poorly on an important test or at a big game. A small amount of stress is normal and even healthy; it helps you grow and teaches you how to overcome challenges.
However, if the stress response is triggered too many times due to childhood trauma, there can be lasting effects on the brain. Repeated exposure dramatically increases the risk of 7 out of 10 of the leading causes of death. It even triples the lifetime risk of both heart disease and lung cancer. Ultimately, there is a 20-year difference in life expectancy of individuals who experience childhood trauma and those who don’t.
Before I focus solely on the impact of childhood trauma on the brain, I want to consider the three types of stress: positive stress, tolerable stress, and toxic stress.
When you deal with positive stress, you experience a faster heartbeat and an increase in stress hormones. It is short-lived, like getting an injection or being left with a new teacher on the first day of school. With proper support, children can learn how to problem-solve during positive stress, which helps them develop a healthy stress response system.
Tolerable stress occurs when you face a more serious challenge, like the death of a loved one or a natural disaster. It can do extreme damage to the brain. Fortunately, positive encouragement and strong bonds can help to heal the impairment.
Toxic stress, also known as childhood trauma, occurs from a harmful event like neglect, violence, or abuse and causes the stress response to be repeatedly triggered. It disrupts the development of the brain and other organ systems, which can increase the risk of stress-related diseases even in later years (as mentioned above). The worse the experience of stress in childhood, the greater the effects will be into adulthood.
Toxic stress specifically impacts the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex.
The amygdala, also called the fear centre, helps to protect you from danger by signaling for your body to react. Toxic stress may cause it to become overactive, which means it tells your body that you are in danger even when you are safe. This constant state of fear, then, leads to chronic stress.
The prefrontal cortex, or the thinking centre, regulates emotions, memory, and sensory processing as well as the stress response system. Trauma causes the prefrontal cortex to become under activated, which leads to difficulties with learning, attention, and concentration.
When you experience stress, your adrenal glands release cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol increases heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and muscle tension to prepare our bodies for “the fight or flight reaction.” When your body is experiencing these changes, it is difficult to think logically.
The prefrontal cortex is connected to the anterior cingulate cortex, which is the emotion regulation centre. This part of the brain helps you manage and control uncomfortable emotions during stress. If it is damaged, it becomes tricky to regulate your emotions. For instance, you may continue to experience fear long after a scary moment is over.
Childhood trauma can lead to various psychological issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), high-level stress, and depression.
Fortunately, these conditions can be managed with proper treatment. Research shows that secure relationships with loving adults as early-on in life as possible can prevent and even reverse the impact of childhood trauma. These relationships help to build trust and a sense of community, which ultimately leads to feelings of confidence and safety.
It’s important to remember that recovery can be a long journey. After all, healing takes time. Seek consistent care and guidance as you work towards a realistic goal.
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