There are many risk factors that influence the development of Mental Health Disorders. However, some of the most common factors revolve around childhood experiences. Experiencing trauma, abuse, neglect, and other adverse circumstances as a child leaves a lasting impression on your mental and emotional well-being, creating Mental Health Conditions and symptoms that can affect you well into adulthood. These experiences influence attachment styles, emotional regulation, and other critical factors in your Mental Health.
You cannot treat Mental Health Disorders as an adult without understanding the childhood experiences at the root of the issue. Explore how childhood experiences can influence the development of Mood Disorders, Addiction Disorders, Reactive Attachment Disorders, and Personality Disorders with this overview.
Defining Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences can refer to countless different circumstances, but they all revolve around experiencing or witnessing some form of trauma during infancy, childhood, or adolescence. Examples of such childhood experiences can include abuse, neglect, isolation, and violence.
Childhood trauma is a risk factor of many different Mental Health Disorders in and of itself. It also influences emotional dysregulation, attachment style, and other circumstances that further increase your risk of developing conditions such as Mood Disorders, Addiction Disorders, and Personality Disorders.
The Development of Emotional Dysregulation
Individuals with emotional dysregulation struggle to feel, process, and express their emotions in a healthy, productive manner. They might try to suppress emotions, blame others for their negative feelings, or rely heavily on others to soothe or prevent those negative feelings.
Emotional regulation is a skill most people learn throughout childhood and adolescence. However, childhood trauma can disrupt the development of this skill, leading to emotional dysregulation. Furthermore, most people develop healthy emotional regulation based on healthy attachment relationships with caregivers. An insecure caregiver-infant relationship—due to abuse, neglect, or other adverse circumstances—can also lead to emotional dysregulation.
Without the ability to productively process intense or negative emotions, individuals struggle with other factors such as stress management, anger management, healthy communication, and more. This presents many different Mental Health challenges and increases your risk of developing Mental Health Disorders as an adult.
Reactive Attachment Disorder and Insecure Attachment Styles
Many adverse childhood experiences tie into attachment styles and one’s relationship with their caregiver during infancy and early childhood. Unhealthy or unstable bonds with caretakers or other parental figures can lead to the development of Reactive Attachment Disorder, which in turn increases the risk of developing other Mental Health Disorders as an adult.
Reactive Attachment Disorder is a serious Mental Health Condition that causes children to struggle with emotional regulation and the creation of meaningful bonds with other people. Risk factors for Reactive Attachment Disorder include abuse or neglect from primary caretakers or traumatic losses during early childhood, such as the death of parents or other parental figures. Reactive Attachment Disorder can also stem from situations where children do not have a consistent primary caretaker, such as children who move through orphanages or multiple foster homes.
Reactive Attachment Disorder and insecure attachment styles are intertwined. Without treatment for Reactive Attachment Disorder, the child grows up with attachment issues that affect relationships, emotional development, social skills, self-image, and so much more. These circumstances and other effects of insecure attachment styles create complications for preventing and treating various Mental Health Disorders in adulthood.
Childhood Risk Factors for Mood Disorders
Mood Disorders are a category of Mental Health Disorders that disrupt mood and emotions. Emotional dysregulation stemming from adverse childhood experiences and insecure attachment styles exacerbates these disorders and their effects on your mood, images, and self-image.
Depressive Disorders
Depressive Disorders are some of the most common Mental Health Disorders among adults. While there are countless potential causes of Depression, childhood experiences can play a big role. Insecure attachments can create or exacerbate risk factors of Depressive Disorders such as trauma, loss, extreme stress, or major life changes. Furthermore, emotional dysregulation can lead to low self-esteem and other negative emotions associated with Depressive Disorders.
Bipolar Disorders
Bipolar Disorders revolve around extreme mood swings that shift from high-energy manic periods to low-energy depressive periods. Bipolar Disorders are closely related to emotional dysregulation, which disrupts emotional balance and hinders one’s ability to process intense feelings. Furthermore, individuals with insecure attachment styles struggle to develop a stable view of themselves and validate their own experiences and emotions without external approval. This struggle also contributes to the extreme emotional imbalances of Bipolar Disorders.
Childhood Risk Factors for Addiction Disorders
Alcohol Addiction, Substance Abuse Disorders, and Behavioral Addictions involve an unhealthy reliance on addictive substances (such as alcohol, opioids, or prescription drugs) or behaviors (such as gambling, gaming, pornography, or sex). Addiction Disorders often coincide with numerous different Mental Health Disorders because many people turn to addictive substances or behaviors as a way to numb negative thoughts and feelings. However, childhood experiences and insecure attachment can lead to Addiction Disorders with or without the development of other Mental Health Conditions.
For example, someone might turn to substance abuse to numb or avoid the loneliness they feel because they struggle to create strong bonds with others due to an insecure attachment style. Alternatively, insecure attachment, emotional dysregulation, and other childhood risk factors can lead to the development of other Mental Health Disorders that drive someone toward substance abuse as an unhealthy attempt to ease their symptoms.
Childhood Risk Factors for Personality Disorders
Individuals with Personality Disorders experience rigid thought patterns that affect their ability to empathize with others, modulate emotions, create a stable self-image, and build strong, healthy relationships with others. These effects go hand in hand with the effects of childhood trauma and insecure attachment styles.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder involves emotional instability and patterns of intense mood swings and emotional outbursts. Emotional dysregulation is an inherent part of Borderline Personality Disorder. Because individuals with insecure attachments do not learn how to regulate their own emotions, they are at a much greater risk of developing Borderline Personality Disorder. Poor self-esteem, unstable relationships, and a fear of abandonment are also common symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder that overlap with the effects of insecure attachment and adverse childhood experiences.
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder have an intense need to control aspects of their lives, including the people around them. OCPD causes fixations on organization, control, and perfectionism. Those who experience childhood trauma or insecure attachments with caregivers might develop feelings of perfectionism as a way to gain control—something they did not have during childhood. However, when that attempt to exert control starts to affect others or harm your own well-being, it creates severe problems for your Mental Health.
The Importance of Evidence-Based Treatment
Healing from Mental Health Disorders requires you to understand the root of the issue. When childhood experiences influence the development of Mood Disorders, Addiction Disorders, Attachment Disorders, and Personality Disorders, it is crucial to address that influence with a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Through evidence-based treatment plans, you can navigate the effects of insecure attachment, emotional dysregulation, and adverse childhood experiences to build a secure attachment style and treat your Mental Health Disorders.
If you are looking for Mental Health treatment from a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Irvine, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Bel Air, Century City, Brentwood, Westwood, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, and the surrounding areas, contact Blair Wellness Group to see how our evidence-based treatment plans can help you.
