How Childhood Trauma Impacts Adulthood & What You Can Do About It

May 11, 2025

Have you ever wondered why certain patterns keep repeating in your life? Things like toxic relationships, chronic anxiety, or an overwhelming need to please others?

You’re not alone. What many don’t realize is that the root of these struggles may lie in Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs). These are early life traumas that, if left unprocessed, can follow us into adulthood, shaping our emotional responses, behaviors, relationships, and even our physical health.

At the Trauma Informed Care Institute, we believe awareness is the first step toward healing. That’s why we created a simple, visual guide to help you connect the dots between childhood trauma and adult challenges.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common ACEs and how they show up later in life:

Physical Abuse

In Childhood: Being hit, slapped, or physically harmed.
In Adulthood: Chronic pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, anger outbursts, fear of intimacy or authority.

Emotional Abuse

In Childhood: Being constantly criticized, belittled, or threatened.
In Adulthood: Low self-esteem, people-pleasing, perfectionism, anxiety, and depression.

Sexual Abuse

In Childhood: Any unwanted sexual contact or exposure.
In Adulthood: PTSD, dissociation, trust issues, body image problems, or unhealthy sexual behaviors.

Emotional Neglect

In Childhood: Emotional needs being ignored or dismissed.
In Adulthood: Feeling unworthy, codependent tendencies, difficulty forming healthy attachments.

Physical Neglect (Unmet Needs)

In Childhood: Lack of food, shelter, medical care, or hygiene.
In Adulthood: Eating disorders, fatigue, hoarding, poor boundaries.

Domestic Violence

In Childhood: Witnessing violence between caregivers.
In Adulthood: Fear of conflict, hypervigilance, anxiety, and attraction to toxic relationships.

Parental Substance Abuse

In Childhood: A parent misusing alcohol or drugs.
In Adulthood: Addiction, caretaking roles, compulsive behaviors, emotional dysregulation.

Parental Mental Illness or Emotional Absence

In Childhood: Living with a parent who is depressed, anxious, or emotionally unavailable.
In Adulthood: Emotional instability, fear of abandonment, self-blame, or avoidance.

Parental Separation or Divorce

In Childhood: Experiencing divorce, abandonment, or inconsistent caregiving.
In Adulthood: Insecurity, fear of rejection, emotional “splitting,” difficulty with commitment.

Trauma Isn’t Who You Are

These patterns don’t mean you’re broken. They are survival strategies your nervous system adopted to keep you safe. But as an adult, you have the power to shift those patterns and create a new experience of life, one rooted in safety, trust, and empowerment.