Child Abuse: Is Child Abuse One Of The Reasons Why So Many People Have Mental And Emotional Problems?

In recent years, a lot has been said about the amount of people that are not in a good way mentally and emotionally. Alongside this, a number of solutions have been put forward.

One thing that is often recommended, if someone is not in a good way, is that they open up to friends or family about what they are going through. Another thing that is suggested is that they call a helpline.

Another Option

And if these two options are not suitable, someone can be advised to pay a visit to their Doctor. When this happens, one could end up being put on medication and/or being referred to a cognitive behavioural therapist.

However, even though the options that are widely available today might not suit everyone, what can’t be denied is that society has come a long way. For many, many years, what was taking place internally was largely overlooked.

The Cause

As a result of this, it likely to take a while until mainstream society offers the kinds of solutions that so many people need. If someone hasn’t got time to wait, and if they are in a very bad way they probably haven’t, they may need to look towards the options that are available on the fringes of society.

Anyway, when it comes to why so many people are not in a good way, a number of reasons are often put forward. It is often said that this is because so many people have a ‘chemical imbalance’ and/or don’t open up about how they feel.

It’s clear

Taking this into account, it is not a surprise that medication and opening up to others is often seen as the way to mental and emotional problems. What also can’t be overlooked here is that the pharmaceutical industry benefits from the chemical imbalance theory.

Is there the chance that certain people in this industry played a part in this so that they could sell more drugs? Surely one would have to be a ‘conspiracy therapist’ to believe that!?

It’s Not Mentioned

What is rarely, if ever, spoken about in the public eye is the effect that childhood abuse can have on how someone experiences life as an adult. Child abuse is then unlikely to be put forward as to why so many people are not in a good way; when in reality, it could be one of the reasons why this is so.

Ultimately, this stage of someone’s life can define how they will experience life as an adult, which is why it can’t simply be overlooked. It can, of course, but it would be a mistake to do so.

A Closer Look

If someone’s early years can have such a big impact on how they experience life as an adult, why isn’t more attention given to this stage of life? There are likely to be a myriad of reasons for this.

One reason is that if someone was abused as a child, they can end up forgetting about what took place. Their mind will have blocked out what took place in order to protect them.

Two Sides

Not only will the need to keep what happened at bay influence how someone’s behaves as an adult, it will also influence society at large. As not only will there be people who were abused as a children that need help, there will also be those who were abused as children that are shaping the very fabric of society

People on both sides are then going to have the need to keep the truth of what happened at bay. Those that need help will then come to believe that they are the way they are thanks to something else and those that are trying to provide help will be happy to come up with other reasons as to why these people are not in a good way.

Living on the Surface

Now, if someone was abused as a child, it is highly likely that they will have a ‘chemical imbalance’ as an adult, along with an overactive mind and an endless flow of negative feelings, among other things. In this case, the chemical balance is not something that they were born with or a sign that they just have a faulty brain; it is a sign that they are carrying trauma.  

The brain in their head, and the brain in their stomach, is then unable to function as it should. Taking something to try to rebalance these chemicals might help, but it almost certainly won’t resolve the underlying issue.

Another Factor

In addition to not being able to remember what took place, someone can also have the need to protect their parents. Therefore, even if they were to come into contact with what is taking place inside them at a deeper level and to remember what took place; they could soon push it down into their unconscious mind (body) again.

Their need to maintain the idealised image that they have formed of their parents could be so strong that they simply can’t face the truth of what took place; the truth that is held in their body. And even though they are an adult, they could still have a fear being harmed and/or abandoned by them.

Conclusion

To say that child abuse is the only reason why so many people are in a bad way would be going a bit far, but to completely overlook this would be a grave mistake. It has been said that a big part of being mentally and emotionally healthy is self-honesty, and if someone is in denial about what took place when they were younger, they are not going to be able to be very honest with themselves.

At the same time, the main reason why they would live in denial is because it is too painful for them to face the reality of what took place. What this illustrates is that someone is only likely to face how they really feel when they feel strong enough and/or when they are in the company of someone – a therapist or a healer perhaps - who can help them to work through what took place when they were a powerless and dependent child.

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