View Full Version : Events in Childhood result in anxiety disorder?
Hi
Sorry I don't really know which forum to post this in.
As a child I witnessed pretty bad domestic violence to my mother from her (then) partner. He was also violent towards me and my brother.
Now I cant remember this very well at all. Could this help cause an anxiety disorder even if I cant remember it very well?:unsure:
Yes it certainly can. Have you had any counselling for this? If not then I am sure it would be helpful to you. I am sorry that you had to witness this as a child and I hope that you can overcome the anxiety :hugs:
I would certainly think so. I had no idea how much stuff from childhood I was carrying as baggage. A lot of it I can't really remember but it's all coming up now through therapy. My therapist said its all been bubbling away under the surface for years and has now been triggered.
I'd never suffered with anxiety or depression or ever got stressed before this all happened.
I was once told that whatever has gone on in the past will all have to come out at some point. Quite often it comes out at a time when you think things should be the most comfortable.
I never thought about it till recently. It has been brought up by family and I always said I couldn't remember it. Thinking about it and some of it has come back. Its not very pleasant to think about it. Strange maybe this does explain some things. I have an appointment for CBT errr appraisal is the only word that comes to mind. I will bring it up then. Thank your for the replies.
---------- Post added at 19:07 ---------- Previous post was at 18:56 ----------
Sorry no I haven't had counselling for it.
The CBT will help you to deal with it.
That's what's odd though it doesn't seem to bother me as I very rarely think about it. Which is why I was wondering if it could be the cause even if I dont think about it? if that makes sense :blush:
Hi daz
Seriously I'm the same. Before I developed anxiety 7 months ago if someone had told me all this stuff would cause my anxiety I wouldn't have believed them. I didn't think about it either or thought it bothered me.
I was wrong! It's all going on in your sub conscious so you won't know you are thinking about it but like I've said it's bubbling away and now coming to the surface
Yes I know what you mean but maybe it has still triggered some anxiety, you will know better when you do the cbt.
Thank you to the both of you for posting.
I will definitely bring it up in 10 days
I had a very sheltered childhood.
1. I was'nt encouraged to mix with people or make friends at school,
I remember during my first days at primary school, I met my mum at the school gates to take me home, I remember saying to her "hey mum, I'm in a gang" , the took a stereotypical bad view of this 'kids talk' by saying something like "no you're not, you keep out of trouble & stay away from them or your for it" ,
2. I was also sent to bed at 7pm every night untill the age of 13.
My aunts & uncles used to visit of an evening, so I would come downstairs to join in the conversation, I reckon my parents felt too ashamed to order me back upstairs incase my aunts uncles had an opinion against this.
3. At the age of 10, my parents did'nt allow consent to learn about re-productive issues - the subject being cats 'doing the biz' I believe,
I think my mum / dad though my school was showing a porno movie or something ???
As a consequence of my lack of knowledge about this, I did'nt know what was meant by 'periods' untill the age of 16 :blush:
4. Mygrandad died when I was 12 years old, my parents denied me the CHOICE to attend his funeral,
I questioned them about this later in my life as to 'why' , & the annoying thing is they gave 3 different 'excuses' , as follows;
1. my older brother had being playing truant & so they did'nt want the education dep't on to them for me attending a family bereavent.
2. "There was'nt enough room in your uncles car" (no such thing as a 'taxi' in 1979 ?? )
3. "You were a little to young to understand, dave" - Its one of 'life's experiences' that I missed out on, & I would've liked to have been 'given the choice' to be at my grandads funeral !!
The first time I ever went to a funeral was my uncles funeral 7 years ago.
5. My parents were strict on me being home at a set time, I had to be in the house no later than 8pm up untill I was 16 , The parents of my few friends would often ask me why my parents imposed such strict rules on me.
As a consequence I became a loner as I could'nt go joining my friends activities, so as a loner, I rebelled against my parents & endulged myself into solvent abuse on/off for 2 years untill I was 19.
My parents are'nt bad people, far from it, they're just VERY naive & maybe over protective / cautious.
I've not spoken to my parents since 2006 due to me grilling them about my childhood (especially grandads funeral), also, ever since I've become an adult they've never shown confidence in my ability to do things, one occasion being I fitted a stair gate for the saftey of my child, in the corner of my eye, I could see my mum nudgeing my dad prompting him to ensure I had fitted it properly. Several other instances too.
Now some people reckon I have issues of anger, hardly suprizing really.
AuntieMoosie
05-01-13, 05:20
Hello :)
Events at any time in our lives can result in any psychological disorder but you are quite right in that we kind of "learn" unhelpful things during our childhood which then results in us hanging on to the unhelpful things, if you see what I mean :)
Most of our adult behaviours are actually learnt during childhood. As a child I was frightened of almost everything, due to my background. I explain it be saying that I literally walked around in a "bubble of fear". Unfortunately back in the 60's and 70's things like this were not very well dealt with, so I was left to my own devices which meant that I wouldn't do so many things because I was always so frightened.
All is not lost though, as it never is, because we have the ability to learn new skills and more positive ways of addressing these problems :)
I would highly recommend both psychotherapy and CBT therapy. Both have proved very helpful for me. Psychotherapy is quite in depth, but you get to learn all about "you" and who you really are and what you're all about, it's hard work, can be painful at times, but the rewards speak for themselves :)
CBT is highly useful at learning to address your fears, learning new ways of thinking and teaching you lots of useful tools and I'm having progress with that right now :)
Hope this helps some :)
It's a very simplistic view that lack of control can triigger depression or anxiety.
The more I think about though, it could be right.
For instance Dave, your parents sound very controlling and wouldn't allow you to make your own choices. This must have been very frustrating and that frustration would've built up over the years.
I witnessed severe domestic violence as a child and the feeling of helplessness is horrendous. I think it's bound to stay with you in your subconcious.
Hi
Thank you all for your replies :D
Dave I can definitely see why your upbringing can cause you to have anxiety. Especially now if your parents are not in control of your life and the responsibility is all on you.
With me I was punished very severly if I did anything wrong and sometimes if I hadnt. This only lasted a couple of years if I remember rightly (which I'm not sure I am) before other people realised what was happening and he was removed from our lives. Now I have thought about it a bit I do remember quite a bit of it:scared15: I have always had a fear of doing things wrong and getting in trouble, which I think is the source of my anxiety.
Whether the two are connected I cant say for sure.
Having some of this come back has made me feel quite angry :mad:
My mum obviously was very protective of us for quite some time and still is to an extent now.
She also has a husband who has been in our lives for nearly 20 years now and who is great. So there is a happy ending to the story :)
I read a book "stop thinking start living" Richard Carlson .Interesting material.
I'm very sorry to hear of your early trauma , I had some bad stuff in early years also but I think there's a gap which I can't recall but can't be sure.
All the best.
I read a book "stop thinking start living" Richard Carlson .Interesting material.
I'm very sorry to hear of your early trauma , I had some bad stuff in early years also but I think there's a gap which I can't recall but can't be sure.
All the best.
Great stuff I'll get it ordered 10 days to great self esteem by David Burns which I think will be a good read then I'll get this ordered.
I'm still not 100% convinced the incidents are what caused this or whether I just want them to be?:doh:
But it was pretty horrible.
Really wish this hadnt crossed my mind.
Couldn't stop thinking about it yesterday:doh:
It was like someone had turned on a tap and all my shitty memories came flooding back.
Didnt sleep for ages:mad:
Is this normal? Am I causing this to happen myself? Have I lost it?
Hi dazzler
I had a good session with my therapist last night. She explained how childhood events are the foundations of our make up and where we learn how to behave and react and they are generally sat behind what causes anxiety and depression in people. Events later in life can also cause it but how we react to these events is still learnt in childhood.
Pyschotherapy deals with these childhood issues. I start this next week as I think I've cracked my cbt and am stopping the negative thoughts from happening so now need to get to the root of the problem which come from my childhood.
Hi Arnie,
Thanks for posting.
I've just got to wait till the 14th and i have my evaluation.
It sounds like you are making great progress. I am glad you are, must feel good :D
What you are saying makes a lot of sense.
CBT did nothing for me last time but I don't think I opened up like I should.
Thankfully I have never had depression.
It seems like it could be what is causing the issues. Some of my memories from childhood seem to be linked with the pre occupation I have with sleep. So hope fully I can sort these things out.
PS Terminator is a great film :yesyes:
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