Years of being helpless and being told what to do at all times will take their toll
Childhood is a time of true helplessness. Giant beings control every detail of your life — what you eat where you go what you can and can’t do. Your freedom of choice and movement is truly limited.
This causes many children to become traumatized. According to renowned trauma researcher Dr. Peter A. Levine a trauma syndrome requires two conditions: the experience of helplessness and an overwhelming event. Overwhelming events for children may be “non-events” for adults. For a two-year-old getting a haircut while strapped into a chair from which he can’t escape can be traumatic. A twelve-year-old who must attend school every day might find the experience of being bullied by classmates traumatic. In such situations the child feels trapped in a situation that he or she can’t handle.
Dr. Levine explains that feelings of intense helplessness initiate a chemical reaction in the brain that leads to a freeze response (when fight or flight is impossible). This leaves “unfinished business” in the brain even when the overwhelming incident has ended. As far as the child is concerned the danger is ever-present and never ending. It remains that way until therapeutic intervention occurs.
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