What are the impacts of CSA trauma?
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The damaging impacts of childhood sexual abuse may be experienced immediately or may emerge in later stages of life. Symptoms may ebb and flow in response to our health, relationships, stress levels, work environment, level of support available or received, and a variety of other factors.
Because sexual abuse happened decades ago for many adult survivors, there is often a disconnect between the symptoms they are experiencing today and their root cause. Some survivors’ symptoms can be triggered by the birth of a child, the death of a loved one or their abuser, the beginning or end of another significant relationship, or a need to interact with their abuser.
Sexual abuse creates trauma
Trauma is defined as a response to any perceived dangerous, harmful or threatening event causing stress beyond an individual’s ability to cope. Trauma is not an event but an injury that occurs and lives inside of us. When abuse occurs, trauma responses try to draw our attention to the need to recover and heal. If that is not possible because of a lack of safety or support, trauma responses continue, often cause additional problems and impair the healing process.
Trauma is a type of injury. Like other injuries, trauma can be healed with the right type of care. Unfortunately, many professionals are not familiar with the ways childhood sexual abuse trauma impacts adults. If a therapist or physician does not know about a client’s history of childhood sexual abuse or is not trained regarding this dynamic, symptoms can be mistaken and result in a misdiagnosis.
It’s important to know: trauma is a normal reaction to abnormal circumstances. You are not broken. There is nothing “wrong” with you. You have been injured from childhood sexual abuse and healing is possible.
“If someone were in a car wreck and suffered serious injuries, would we shame them? Would we say just get over it? And yet, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse experiences massive amounts of trauma and literally injury to the brain. But we say just get over it it’s so long ago, you’re fine. Just because you can’t physically see it doesn’t mean it’s not there and that it doesn’t exist and that it doesn’t require serious help.”
– Wings Support Group Graduate
5 areas of impact
Trauma from childhood sexual abuse can impact a person in a multitude of ways. To help better understand these various impacts, we categorize them here:
CSA trauma’s impact on the mind and thinking can include the following:
- changes in belief systems
- cognitive distortions
- negative self-image
- disempowerment
- rumination (repetitive negative thought patterns or replaying of past events)
- traumatic memories
- nightmares
- low confidence
- obsessive thoughts
- either/or thinking
- perfectionism
CSA trauma’s impact on the body can include:
- nervous system dysregulation
- heightened stress responses and reactivity
- disembodiment (feeling detached from your physical body)
- dissociation from body
- difficulties with sexuality
- sleep problems
- health issues
- distorted body image
- eating disorders
CSA trauma may cause feelings in the categories below. These emotions and trauma reactions can negatively impact coping, increase numbing reactions, or leave people without adequate information about their environment and their responses to it. People may turn to harmful behaviors in an attempt to cope, including addiction, substance abuse, eating disorders, self-injury, suicidal thinking, suicide attempts or suicide.
- guilt
- shame
- fear
- anxiety
- depression
- irritability
- obsessive/compulsive behaviors
- leading to addictions and behaviors listed above
CSA Trauma may cause injury to a person’s worldview, faith, and spiritual practices. This might increase the feelings listed below and increase disconnection from something bigger than self:
- hopelessness for the future
- reduced energy for life
- passivity
- self-destructive behaviors
- difficulty with self-care
- difficulty caring for your children
- lack of joy and pleasure
CSA trauma may impact how a person relates to themselves, other people, and the world. The betrayal of trust present in childhood sexual abuse is a relational trauma and often impacts relationships in adulthood. This can include:
- mistrusting self
- mistrusting others
- difficulty with relationships
- isolation
- loss of voice
- revictimization in current relationships
Support or lack of support during childhood matters
The context in which a traumatic event takes place also plays a role in the degree of impact. If a child experiences childhood sexual abuse while living with a supportive family who believes in their experiences, protects them from further abuse, stays connected, and demonstrates support for healing, they are likely to experience fewer impacts from that traumatic event.
In contrast, a child is likely to experience more impacts from childhood sexual abuse if they are living in a family who has caused the harm, uses other forms of violence or abuse, refuses to believe the child or protect them from ongoing abuse, denies the child’s voice or needs, or uses other unhealthy or harmful behaviors.
Childhood sexual abuse trauma often has a greater impact because it is developmental and, often, complex.
Developmental trauma is trauma that occurs in childhood. This is significant as it is trauma that occurs when a child is not yet fully developed physically, emotionally or interpersonally. Consequently, trauma experienced in childhood can have greater negative impact, and can impact ongoing development.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study explores the impacts of events like childhood experiences throughout the lifespan. You can learn more here.
Complex trauma occurs when a child or adult experiences multiple traumatic events or victimizations or extended exposure to totalitarian control. Any individual traumatic event can have a significant impact on a person’s life. If a person experiences multiple traumatic events, they are more likely to experience compounded or complex trauma.
That means the impacts or symptoms they experience can become more intense or debilitating and are more likely to shape how they understand and relate to their own experiences and to others.
This can cause the following problems:
- affect regulation problems
- changes in attention and consciousness
- altered perception of self
- altered perception of abuser
- problems with interpersonal relationships
- somatization (symptoms presented through the body) or medical problems
- changes in systems of meaning
Where we can be harmed, we can be healed.
It may feel overwhelming to consider the many ways that CSA trauma can impact a person throughout their lives, particularly if you are an adult survivor yourself. Yet, each of these areas can be healed and transformed into healthier ways of thinking, being, feeling, existing and relating.
You are not alone
If you have any of these trauma symptoms, you are not alone. We believe no one should have to heal from this trauma alone. That’s why Wings exists. We validate and affirm each adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse for their experiences and the healing support they need and deserve.
Healing is possible.
Acknowledging the impacts of childhood sexual abuse is a first step towards healing on many levels. The journey may be difficult at times, yet healing can transform your life and relationships. If you’re reading this, you may be ready to begin or advance your healing journey. We are with you in this process.
You can start anytime.
If you are an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse, healing is possible for you. Wings is here to support you whether you’re ready to take the first step or the next step in your healing journey. We can offer referrals to qualified professionals and provide other resources to support you.
How Wings Can Help