Trust: Can childhood trauma prevent someone from being able to trust others?

16-04-2023

According to Erik Erikson, the first stage of development that a person goes through is related to whether or not they can trust others. Now, as long as his primary caretaker, who is probably his mother, is consistent with taking care of her, this stage should go well.

This will mean that this parent will need to constantly provide them with food, comfort, and care. What this will do is help soothe, if not completely resolve, the feeling of uncertainty that you will have about the world.

Strong Foundations

The result of this is that they will learn to trust others, develop a secure attachment, and know that people are trustworthy. This will allow them to develop a sense of confidence in their own ability to meet their needs and handle a crisis.

With this element in place, it will be possible for them to move on to the next stage of their development: autonomy. Naturally, if you feel safe being here and have a sense of trust in the world, it will allow you to move on to the next stage.

jumping ahead

When they are adults, skipping a series of developmental stages, they will have the ability to establish secure relationships with others. Emotionally connecting with another and opening up to them will feel safe.

This is not to say that this will happen to anyone or that they will be gullible, something that is said to happen if this stage of someone’s life is too good, as they must have the ability to discern. Thanks to what they experienced very early, they will have a deep sense of hope and optimism.

numerous benefits

As they, along with everyone else on this planet, are interdependent human beings, being able to form close bonds with others will not only be a key part of their ability to survive, but also to thrive. Having close connections with others will be an essential part of enabling them to have good mental and emotional health.

Also, by knowing deep down that it is safe for them to exist, that the world can be trusted, and the belief they have in meeting their needs, it will be much easier for them to be at ease and relax. They will know that things will work out sooner or later and that they can trust and let go.

a different reality

Considering this, if someone had a very different experience during this stage of their life, it is likely that it will turn out very differently. This may have been a time in his life when his primary caretaker was typically unpredictable and unreliable.

So instead of getting the care they needed, they were often left to grieve for long periods, and when care was given, they often choked and felt trapped. This would have been a natural consequence of having a caregiver who was probably unable to attend to his needs, perhaps because he was closed off and disconnected from himself.

A threat

They would soon have come to associate the world as unpredictable, unreliable, and even dangerous. As for other people, these will be seen as insecure, unreliable, and unreliable.

So even though both they and others will be human beings, one will have come to see them as very different. In a way, it will be as if they are a different life form and need to keep their distance.

very suspicious

Deep down, the world will be seen as a very uncertain place and they will not believe that their needs will be met or that other people will be there for them. They may have a need to keep their guard up at all times, fearing that their conspecifics will harm them if they don’t.

A large part of them could spend a lot of time in a withdrawn state and could sometimes become paranoid. As their early experiences will have placed them in a defensive position, it will be incredibly difficult for them to relax and let go, and unfortunately, because of what they experienced, they may not be very hopeful or very optimistic. that your life will change.

a miserable existence

One may not have been in an intimate relationship or have been with people but not been able to fully present themselves. If they have, they will not have been able to see the other person for what they were; they would have unconsciously seen them as the parents they had from a very early age.

Due to their need to keep people at an emotional if not physical distance, they can often feel lonely and empty. The challenge is that no matter how strong your need to keep people at a distance is, you will still have a need to connect with them.

in conflict

What they went through very early on would have been deeply traumatic and this means that however abnormal their behavior may seem, it is completely normal. With this in mind, it will be essential for one to be compassionate towards oneself.

Many years will have passed since his early years but most of them will not have passed this stage of his life. This part, being in a frozen state, will not realize that what happened is over.
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Awareness

If you can relate to this and are ready to change your life, you may need to seek outside support. This is something that can be provided with the help of a therapist or healer.