Trauma and Resilience Paper 3
As children, everything around us shapes us so easily into who we become. The way our
older siblings treat us, the extracurriculars we enroll in, the kind of home our parents display to
us, all of these affect our development from a young age. Sometimes, the trauma in our lives can
influence this development in a negative way. We may have less self-esteem due to an event in
our life, or we may get triggered for certain things from past experiences. Trauma may have
specific factors that can lead to developmental delays, and spiritual development may help us to
counter those delays.
Trauma can really impact who we become as people. It can be as simple as getting stung
by a wasp on the swings when you were little, so you never enjoy going on the swings again. It
can also be big things that affect your life into adulthood like sexual assault or emotional abuse.
The main types of mistreatment that can affect a child when they are young are compacted into
these four categories: physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse (Wong et. al,
2021). These authors also discuss specific factors that can be correlated with developmental
delays. Poverty can cause a delay in gross motor skills like walking, while abuse and neglect can
cause delays in communication skills like using speech (Wong et. al, 2021). However, with the
right protective factors such as social support, accessible intervention, and spirituality, children
can be resilient to these delays (Marshall et. al, 2020). Trauma factors can specifically cause
certain delays in child development, but with the right help and guidance, parents can avoid these
issues.
Trauma and Resilience Paper 4
Spirituality can help protect child development from trauma factors causing delays. The
peace it can give you may help the trauma not truly affect the development in your brain. While
it can sometimes help guard these delays from happening, it can also assist people that have
already experienced the developmental delay counter these affects of the trauma. Spirituality can
give those that struggle with trauma issues a feeling of enlightenment, success, and peace
(Starnino, 2016). When dealing with developmental delays, these feelings are sometimes hard to
come by, and just the thought of success or peace can help one get to another day. Spirituality
can also help one feel connected, and these feelings can help one learn to cope with their trauma,
or even reframe the way they think about their traumatic experience (Starnino, 2016). However
one benefits from spirituality to help with the affects of trauma is a good start to dealing with the
hardships of life. Pslam 34:18 states, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those
who are crushed in spirit.” This reminds me when I feel broken or saddened by something
traumatic in my life that this is the moment I am closest with Him. This saves me every time.
In conclusion, trauma can deeply affect those who have been hurt by it, but spirituality is
just one way we can save ourselves. There are certain factors that can specifically affect our
development and delay us, but with the right help and guidance, we can learn to cope with
whatever is thrown at us. Feeling peaceful and connected with the world can help us fight the
demons of our past. I wonder if further research could show a change in the actual brain
chemicals produced before and after the spiritual aid in coping with trauma. If spirituality can
help us to feel good after such events, I know it can help just about anything in our lives.
Trauma and Resilience Paper 5
References
Marshall, C., Semovski, V., & Stewart, S. L. (2020). Exposure to childhood interpersonal
trauma and mental health service urgency. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, 104464.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104464
Scofield, C. I. (1995). The holy bible: Containing the old and new testaments. Christian Heritage.
Starnino, Vincent R. “When Trauma, Spirituality, and Mental Illness Intersect: A Qualitative
Case Study.” Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy. 8.3 (2016): 375–
383. Web.
Wong, D. W., Hall, K. R., & Hernandez, L. W. (2021). Counseling individuals through the
lifespan. SAGE.
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