Child Abuse: Does Child Abuse Cause Mental And Emotional Problems?

For quite some time now, it has been said that there are a lot of people who are not in a good way internally. When something like this is spoken about in the media, the words ‘depression’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘suicidal’ are often mentioned.

It can then seem as though this is a fairly new problem and that everything was fine before. Another way of looking at it would be to say that the primary difference is that this is something that has only just started to be acknowledged.

Into The Light

In the past, then, external problems were the only problems that were given much attention, with inner problems being largely overlooked. Thus, if someone had an inner problem, they would have had to deny its existence.

Thankfully, times have changed, and now someone no longer needs to deny a big part of themselves. In other words, it will be possible for them to embrace their whole being.

The Reason

When inner problems are mentioned, a number of reasons are usually out forward as to why someone would have them. One of the common ones is that this is what will happen to someone if they have a ‘chemical imbalance’.

Another thing can be put forward is that this is what takes place when someone’s thoughts are out of control. Being isolated from others and spending too much time by oneself is another thing that can be mentioned.

The Solution

Taking all this into account, there will be something that one can do if they are suffering internally. They may need to take certain drugs to rebalance their inner imbalance, to monitor their mind or to spend more time around others.

Then again, they may need to embrace each of these options and then their life will be back on track. But regardless of whether this approach will or won’t work, it is clear that it will be what could be described as a very surface level approach.

A Deeper Look

Irrespective of whether someone’s inner problems are seen as the result of a ‘chemical imbalance’ or their thoughts; it can be as though their being is just playing up. In the same way that an appliance can be faulty, their being will also be faulty.  

The big question is, why is their inner world the way it is? In the same way that an appliance doesn’t just play up, neither does a human being – there is going to be a reason why their inner world is the way it is.

One Factor

Now, while it is a good thing that peoples inner worlds are being given more attention in today’s world, would it be a surprise if the drug industry has played a big part in this? This could sound like a conspiracy theory, but what can’t be denied is that this industry now has a whole new area to profit from.

There will different organisations that will come up with different labels for what people are going through, providing legitimacy, and then this industry will supply the drugs for their ‘disorders’. In the same way that this industry has defined what kind of relationship that so many people have with their body, it is now defining what kind of relationship so many people with their inner world, and it will condition them to see their drugs as the answer to their problems.

Another Factor

So, clearly, this industry is going to want people to accept the ‘chemical imbalance’ view and to not look any deeper. This can be hard to accept, yet what needs to be remembered is that their main priority is to make money, not to help people.

And when it comes to going deeper, there is a strong chance that someone will come into contact with something that they would rather avoid. So, as the human mind has the need to avoid pain and to live on the surface, it is not a surprise that the modern-day world often lacks depth and is primarily focused on surface level things.

A Key Factor

When it comes to going deeper, it relates to going into the body and coming into connect with the parts of oneself that have been pushed aside. What someone may find, if they were to do this, is that they will experience things that they haven’t experienced since they were very small.

Not only is this hard to do, it can also result in them having to come to terms with how their caregivers treated them at this stage of their life. And if they have an idealised version of them, it can be very hard for them to acknowledge what took place.

An Easier Option

Due to how painful it can be to embrace this pain and to face up to what took place during their early years, it can be a lot simpler for them to live on the surface of themselves and to try to treat the symptoms of their abuse. What this won’t do, however, is allow them to develop self-knowledge or to become an integrated human being.

Perhaps their early years were a time when they were physically and/or verbally abused, and they may have been neglected. This would have had an effect on their brain and it would have traumatised their being.

Conclusion

The need for someone to protect their parents is something that Alice Miller goes into in her books. She goes into how even though someone can be an adult, letting go of their false view of them and standing up to them can bring up their early trauma around being harmed and/or abandoned.  
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If someone can relate to what has been said, and they want to change their life, they may need to reach out for external support. This is something that can be provided by the assistance of a therapist or a healer.

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk