Experiencing trauma can have an extremely detrimental effect on our minds and bodies. While, watching something traumatic on television or hearing a traumatic story can affect us to a certain degree, it is a very different experience from facing it and living through it in real life. Our bodies are wired to produce a stress response in the face of any danger or threat. The response is generated within our mind and body. Naturally, when this happens, our body releases adrenaline and other hormones. The body is functioning and preparing for an emergency, when danger is present. Our body’s functions, which are essential for long term care, are halted to deal with the threat that the body is experiencing at the moment. At this point, processes such as, cell repairs, reproduction and processes having to do with the digestive system seem insignificant.
Our body’s first and the most important response, when faced with any kind of danger or threat, is to survive. Also known as the fight or flight response. In this physiological reaction, our body works in a way to provide us with extra strength and energy. There are increases in a steroid hormone called, cortisol, which serves as a natural built-in alarms system and helps fight of pain and inflammation. Our blood pressure drastically increases and the blood in our body moves from the around our body to our major muscles to help give us more strength. More sugar is broken down in our blood to produce extra energy. To temporarily numb the pain, our body produces more endorphins, endogenous opioid neuropeptides and peptide hormones that are stored in our pituitary glands.
These responses, which are produced by our bodies, can be clearly seen in common symptoms of stress. For example, fatigue, nausea, accelerated heartbeat, sweat, and hot flashes. These are just our physical body’s response to trauma and stress. But what is less visible to the human eye are the extremely negative effects trauma can have on our minds, long after the physical response is gone. The disturbing effects trauma can have on the human mind, can last for years and years after. It can affect almost every aspect of a person’s life, making even the simplest and smallest of tasks in the daily life, difficult to complete. Additionally, it can hinder a person’s ability to build or maintain healthy and loving relationships with loved ones. Numerous complications can arise in the home life and work life.
People, who have faced trauma early on in life, are likely to develop Post-traumatic stress disorder later in life and are prone to other mental health illnesses, such as, depression, anxiety, and chronic stress. The effects of childhood trauma can be reversed, if the child receives treatment and therapy early in life. The child’s mind is still developing and learning, this can make therapy and treatment more effective, in comparison to when an adult receives treatment.
Denise Shellyann Clarke’s memoir, My Protector Was My Molester 978-1-951630-57-7, describes her childhood trauma and the effects of it in detail. It can take a lot of courage for a CSA survivor to describe what they experienced, Clarke is determined to share her story of survival and how she found her way back to light in the darkest times.
About the Author
Author and loving mother to three young kings, Denise Shellyann Clarke is a passionate, strong-willed, and a strong-minded woman. Clarke’s life has not been an easy one, but she has managed to escape her dark times and live a happier life. Even in the face of such adversity, Clarke has found happiness and hopes that by sharing her story, she can help others, who have been through the same experience.
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