How our brain hides (and gets back) Memories of Childhood Trauma

Did you experience anything negative in childhood that still haunts you?  Do you know how your brain hides these painful memories? How to heal your childhood trauma?

A child can experience trauma in any form – rape, abuse, violence, neglect, accidents, or natural disasters like Tsunami any other situation that created extreme fear or shock. Such experiences have a long-lasting effect on mind but its manifestation is usually seen in adulthood. 

Unlike the physical wounds the, childhood trauma leaves scars that are not visible but uglier and far more painful. The trauma takes a psychological toll on children as a result they change for the worse. 

Exposure to the devastating event at an early age impacts thinking, reasoning, behaviour and the play becomes repetitive – often involves trauma. Consequently, they change for the worse. 

They tend to develop a heightened stress response, which impacts their power to regulate emotions, leads to sleep difficulties, decreases immune function, lowers self-esteem and confidence, and increases the risk of various physical illnesses. 

People with early childhood trauma also develop trust issues and tend to have a poor social life. Other common symptoms are aggression, self-harm, alcohol or drugs abuse.  

Related:  7 Steps to Healing Childhood Trauma as an Adult

But, there are also cases where children don’t remember childhood trauma, because it is blocked or blurred by their brains. Such blurred memories of childhood trauma hinder the healing process.  

For example – you must have seen people terrified with the smell of alcohol or experiencing panic attacks when touched by an older person or seeing heavy traffic on the road. It may be because the brain has blurred the memory of being molested or raped by an older person who was drunk or a truck accident by a drunk driver. 

Not knowing what let to severe anxiety and panic attacks make you think “What is wrong with me?” “Am I abnormal”. This is also known as repressed or recovered memories.

What are the hidden memories of childhood trauma? 

Traumatic experiences in early childhood may lead to anxiety disorder, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But not able to recall what exactly happened with you is the major obstacle to healing the trauma. It is difficult to receive psychological counselling with hidden memories of trauma. It is a lose-lose situation for trauma victims! They can heal the childhood scars only when they reach the root of all problems.

Research on hidden memories

Northwestern University conducted research to investigate how brain hides painful memories of trauma. The researchers experimented with lab mice and administered drug that stimulated the extra-synaptic GABA receptors in their brains. Upon activation, these receptors can alter the state of brain which causes a person to feel calm or alert, tired or awake. 

After the drug administration, the mice were kept in the box and subjected to mild electric zap. And, this action represents a trauma in PTSD victim. 

Once the mice were returned to the box they were back to a normal state and scurried around freely. This represents the stage where the victim cannot remember the incident and continues as normal. When the scientists administered the same drug to mice that stimulated their extra-synaptic GABA receptors and again placed it in the box, the rodents froze with fear. 

The researchers concluded that the mice could access the memory of the shock when subjected to same adverse situation. Because of the drug and the shock treatment-induced in the mice the identical psychological state as the trauma.