In one long-term study, Silverman, Reinherz, and Giaconda show that “as many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21” (“Long-Term Effects,” Long-Term Consequences). Many Adults who have been abused in their childhood still have effects from the trauma today. The issues victims have that went through child abuse are more severe than people know. Some of the victims isolate themselves from everyone because people do not understand the problems they go through. The long-term mental, social, and health problems can be huge issues to adults who went through child abuse; people should learn about what the everyday effects of child …show more content…
abuse adults endure in order to help them.
First, mental problems are huge issues for adults who have endured abuse in their childhood. The victims feel large amounts of shame, worthlessness, and powerlessness because of what happened to them thinking it’s their fault; therefore, it causes them to have depression ("The Ways Childhood Trauma and Abuse Can”). The effects of feeling worthless and powerless can be entirely overwhelming, or even debilitating. Letting these feelings take over one’s psyche, having them at the forefront of all that a person does, can lend to second guessing all of your decisions. There is a sadness that settles in when you constantly doubt yourself and long term depression can quickly take hold. Helping these children of abuse accept that none of the tortures they went through was their fault will help them move away from that sadness. Anxiety is another big mental issue the victims have. They live in constant fear which makes them edgy all of the time. That could lead to a reoccurrence of horrific anxiety attacks. The victims not knowing how to cope with their anxiety correctly use unhealthy ways to feel better like alcohol, drugs, sex, and gambling ("The Ways Childhood Trauma and Abuse Can”). Learning how to act around the victims and how to calm them down will lessen their anxiety, causing the anxiety not to be a major daily issue. Practicing proper coping skills will assist in stopping them from doing the unhealthy activities they may take part in just to numb out the pain. Learning proper coping skills can make all of the difference in dealing with anxiety. Anxiety is a normal response to stressful situations. It’s how people learn to deal with that anxiety that can be the difference in a healthy or unhealthy mind. Spacing out is a common mental issue victims do to get away from their problems by going deep into their head to escape everything (Connelly 42). Seeing what triggered them to space out and knowing next time how to help can slowly stop this mental issue. Secondly, victims suffer from huge social issues.
They have a difficult time interacting with others around them. The victims lack empathy for others and have a hard time controlling their emotions (Connelly 42). Adults who have been abused when younger might gain antisocial traits (“Long-Term Consequences,” Long-Term Consequences). That causes the victims to isolate themselves finding it hard to trust others; therefore, makes them have lower-esteem and depression ("Long-Term Consequences,” Child Welfare Information Gateway). It is hard for the victims to maintain any type of healthy relationship. Since the victims have a difficult time controlling their emotions they act impulsively, putting little thought into what they may say or do before reacting. A survey says that victims have “a higher rate of failed relationships and marriages.” (“The Ways Childhood Trauma and Abuse”). Knowing why they acted that way and how to help them might save their relationships. Victims also tend to be violent to others. Child abuse victims think violent acts are normal and a way to relieve stress (Connelly 35). Due to experiencing heightened emotional reactions to everyday situations these adults can easily sabotage healthy connections by using violence to adapt to their surroundings. They don’t see they are causing harm to others by repeating a learned behavior and need to acquire the correct skills to express themselves …show more content…
properly.
Lastly, most adults who went through child abuse have health problems.
Some of the physical trauma their body went through can cause development issues. Child abuse can affect the brain development which affects cognitive, language, and educational abilities (“Long-Term Consequences,” Child Welfare Information Gateway). Knowing about this can help the victims get the correct care they need. Disease is a big health issue too. The victims have a higher rate in getting cardiovascular, lung disease, liver, diabetes, and obesity (“Long-Term Consequences,” Child Welfare Information Gateway). Learning and knowing about these severer health problems can help them get the right medication. Immune systems can be issued for child abuse victims. The physical abuse victims went through lowered their immune systems and causes them to get sick easier than normal (“The Ways Childhood Trauma”). Helping them stay away from places that can cause them to fall ill will be a huge
help.
The long-term effects of child abuse are a serious issue. People need to acknowledge that child abuse has harming effects that don’t go way over a little amount of time. Learning about the effects adults still go through from the child abuse they endured and helping them can benefit their future. Social, mental, and health problems are major issues victims go through every day. Being ignorant about these issues and not doing anything to help could put a victim at risk.