Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 2
Abstract
Trauma can affect people regardless of their age. Exposure to any level of trauma can hinder
development in young children and affect them into adulthood. Adverse childhood experiences
can rewire one’s brain into a constant survival mode. This essay takes a swift glance at trauma's
effects on children's development and how spirituality can be beneficial to healing.
Keywords: trauma, spirituality, child development, healing, prayer, meditation
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 3
Benchmark Essay: Trauma, Development, and Spirituality
Everyone will experience a traumatic event during their life. Some people can move on
from those emotionally demanding situations, while others struggle to overcome their emotions.
Trauma can happen to anyone at any given time. The likelihood that most adults have
experienced some trauma is high, 61 percent high to be approximate, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The utilization of spirituality and religious
practices has been a longstanding resource in healing and managing the aftershock of traumatic
experiences.
When someone is exposed to trauma, regardless of age, they must decide how to process
the threat. In young children, this can lead to altered emotional learning, heightened emotional
reactivity, or emotional regulation difficulties (McLaughlin & Lambert, 2017). Altered
emotional learning is a process in which children who have experienced trauma view all
experiences as a spectrum of threats. They have trouble recognizing safe situations even when
there are no signs of threats or danger (McLaughlin & Lambert, 2017). Children who have
experienced trauma may have difficulties trusting an adult, such as doctors or caregivers, even
when the adult is trying to help them. They can also show a heightened emotional response when
they do not know the outcome. Children who have been exposed to trauma can have a disconnect
in their emotions to disassociate themselves by running away from frightening situations in order
to protect themselves in the best way they can.
Working for the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), many families
we work with have experienced significantly traumatic events. Parents can experience trauma
from having child protective services investigate their household, and children can experience
trauma from being victims. Moreover, in many of my cases, the parents were victims of abuse
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 4
and neglect when they were children. Adverse Childhood Experiences, ACEs, can obstruct a
child’s development (Suh, 2022). Many of my coworkers have a history of trauma from their
childhood, which could lead to secondary trauma.
In my line of work, the developmental issues that I see mostly are dissociation,
behavioral issues, and cognitive deficits. Children in the DFPS system often find themselves
withdrawn from the traumatic experience. They have trouble remembering what happened, and it
becomes a defense mechanism in hopes of forgetting the traumatic event. They can be triggered
and will likely react negatively not to deal with the trauma. They can often act out or take risks in
social atmospheres, such as substance use, fighting, or promiscuity. Children who have
experienced trauma can have trouble with problem-solving or language development because all
of their internal resources go to ensuring they can survive the following experience (Peterson,
2018).
Resilience is complex, but those with this trait often do not show the effects of their
trauma. Experiencing a traumatic event can destroy someone’s ability to live the kind of life they
had hoped for, and it can be crippling to their future if they don’t have the skills to cope.
Building a resilient spirit is one way to trounce trauma. Being resilient is a way for trauma
victims to protect themselves from being overwhelmed by stress (Davis, 2022).
Spirituality and religion can be paramount to healing trauma in children and adults.
Upholding religious beliefs can help subside symptoms of trauma by active participation in
religious practices. Praying and meditation can reduce stress and often helps to keep people
grounded by the simple understanding that while something terrible happened to them, they can
still live a seemingly good life. Spirituality can help someone who’s experienced trauma, giving
them a sense that someone cares and is listening to them. God says we should bring all our
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 6
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, April 6). Fast facts: Preventing adverse
childhood experiences violence prevention injury Center CDC. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html
Davis, S. (2022, May 16). Trauma, stress, and resilience. CPTSDfoundationorg. Retrieved April
6, 2023, from https://cptsdfoundation.org/2022/05/16/trauma-stress-and-resilience/
Peterson, S. (2018, June 11). Effects. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved
April 6, 2023, from https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/complex-
trauma/effects#:~:text=They%20may%20struggle%20with%20sustaining,support%20in
%20the%20academic%20environment.
McLaughlin, K. A., & Lambert, H. K. (2017). Child trauma exposure and psychopathology:
Mechanisms of risk and resilience. Current Opinion in Psychology, pp. 14, 29–34.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.10.004
Suh, B. (2022).JThe Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience on Child
Development: Future Directions in Research, Practice, and Policy&(Order No.
29067314). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2670050462).
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/
dissertations-theses/effects-adverse-childhood-experiences-resilience/docview/
2670050462/se-2
