Are your mental health issues rooted in childhood?

Why I decided to specialize with inner child work. I am a certified Hypnotherapist and changed careers from nursing, where I had the honor to work with many families in many areas of healthcare. Including, but not limited to, detox and recovery, home health pediatrics, and in a children’s psychiatric hospital. More on the career change here: http://hypnobreakthrough.com/index.php/2020/10/24/why-i-left-nursing/

I decided to focus on inner child work mainly from my own breakthrough during therapy a few years ago, where I realized that my own childhood had been a major contributor to my adult issues throughout my life. It took much too long for me to realize this, in my 50’s, after two unhealthy marriages and raising my own children. I also began to notice that many of my Hypnotherapy clients came to me for one issue only to realize after a couple sessions that the issue was rooted in childhood. You may not be able to heal from what may seem like a surface level issue, or something all together unrelated to your childhood,  until you dig deeper in the subconscious. I decided I wanted to help others get to the root of the issue sooner, so they can live a more fulfilling life. 

Trauma in childhood can cause many mental health issues in adulthood (not to be confused with mental illness, diseases or disabilities.) Including, but not limited to, Addictions, (remember that addiction is not always about drugs or alcohol)  lack of self esteem and self confidence, issues with relationships, trust, attachment, attracting or being attracted to abusive or controlling partners, repeating cycles and patterns passed down from our own parents, often for generations. Just to name a few. 

You may wonder how you could possibly be having issues that are commonly associated with the inner child, or childhood trauma if your childhood was ‘normal’ or average, or even have mainly only good memories. We tend to think of childhood trauma in terms of extremes, such as physical or sexual abuse, and severe cases of willful neglect. However, that’s just not the case.

What other kinds of things cause childhood trauma? Parents who often argue or fight (physical or otherwise) within earshot of the children, or involving the children in the fights or arguments, absent parents, divorce, even friendly, respectful divorce can cause childhood trauma, poverty, death of a friend or loved one in childhood, under or over stimulation, being witness to a traumatic event that didn’t involve the child without explanation, or a supporting loving place to express feelings or ask questions about what was witnessed  ….and so much more. We hear so often that children are resilient, and they ’bounce back’. Parents are often wrongly advised to not talk about “it” or to hide their emotions around the children. Which actually causes more confusion for the kids. 

How to heal? Childhood trauma benefits from inner child work; which may include forgiveness, connecting with the inner child to re-parent the little one inside, or unlearning of limiting beliefs and old patterns. There are certainly many ways to do this, not all involve therapy. A ‘toolbox’ approach is best, having and using several choices and options to help work through the issues, and heal. Some treatments and therapies work better for others, something that has helped one person may not do anything for another. It does take patience and diligence to find out what’s best for you. The best place to start is to practice self care. My next article will offer some examples of the many ways to heal from childhood trauma. 

Reach out. Whether you feel that you have suffered childhood trauma or not, please reach out if you need help to cope. There is no shame or weakness in asking for help. You don’t have to know what exactly is wrong or why. If you’re feeling you need help – you’re not fulfilled, feel stuck or scared or unsure what’s going on, but just not happy – reach out, don’t suffer in silence! Mental health care matters, and you matter!

 It seems asking for help is one of the hardest things to do, especially for those of us that are considered the strong ones, or the ones that everyone else comes to for advice, or to vent or be a shoulder to cry on. Helping others is healing, but even the healer needs to remember self care and to seek help when needed as well. 

I want to thank you all so much for being here. I love hearing from you, please feel free to reach out anytime about anything. Do you have an idea for an article, or something you would like to see me write about? Do you have questions about hypnotherapy?  Are you wondering if hypnotherapy can help you with your own issues and goals. I always welcome feedback and questions. I offer complimentary phone consultations, where we can have a chat about hypnotherapy, get any questions answered and even get a sample session so you can see how it feels. 

You can contact me by email Pamela@HypnoBreakthrough.com or by using the contact form on the homepage here: HypnoBreakthrough.com 

Please take care, inside and out 

Pamela Topjian, LVN, CHt