15 Things You Face As An Adult If You've Been A Victim Of Childhood Abuse

There's no doubt about it - your experiences during childhood have a huge impact on how you'll turn out as an adult. Whether you had good experiences, bad experiences, or something in between, the feelings of happiness, pain, sadness, excitement, loneliness, and security end up shaping who we are as people. Going through abuse as a child is definitely something that affects people into adulthood. There's even a few common things you can expect to face if this happened to you.
Asking A Lot Of Questions

You might find that even if you know all the answers, it won't stop you from asking a billion questions about everything. Sometimes abuse during childhood takes away your confidence, which leaves you constantly doubting yourself and your own knowledge.

Saying Sorry All The Time

Ever find yourself apologizing all the time, even if it's not your fault? Don't worry, you're not alone, thousands of abuse victims have reported the exact same thing. This might have something to do with feeling like you just can't do anything right.

Self-Doubt

This is only natural when you've grown up in a traumatic or chaotic environment. Abusers make their victims feel small and incapable, so it's perfectly understandable as to why that translates into a lot of self-doubt when you're an adult.

Feeling Too Sensitive

Experiencing something so terrible as a child ends up making you very sensitive to your own and other people's issues in the future. When you've been through the worst, you know what someone else might be feeling in bad times, too.

Lacking Trust In Others

Not only do you doubt yourself, you also find it hard to trust other people. Being abused as a child is the ultimate betrayal, which leaves you extremely cautious around others as an adult. It's very hard to trust again after trauma like that.

High Anxiety

Understandably, growing up used to bad things happening means you're always going to be ready for more bad stuff to happen. This can make you extremely anxious and highly-strung in your adult years. Try to see a mental health specialist if this describes you.

Sensitive To Loud Noises

Abuse is synonymous with yelling. Not many children are abused in silence, which means when they're all grown up they're often very sensitive to loud noises. It's a mental trigger that really brings back bad memories from their abusive past.

Antisocial Behaviour

A traumatic childhood can result in antisocial behavior as an adult. Social occasions or getting too close to people who may ask about the past are a victim's worst nightmare. Because of this, they often choose to stay at home.

Attachment Issues

Though it's difficult for abuse survivors to form strong bonds, when they finally do, it can become a problem. It's easy to become emotionally attached to this person you know you can trust. Often there is a fear of abandonment, too.

Forming Romantic Bonds

Most child abuse victims were terrorized by the very people who were supposed to love them most. For this reason, it can be extremely difficult opening up your heart to romantic love. You just have no way of knowing if they will hurt you.

Not Being Able To Take A Compliment

This is all linked to that over-arching self-doubt that many victims suffer from. Thousands of survivors have reported being unable to accept or believe compliments when they're given. Many state it's because they don't feel worthy of the kind words offered.

Self-Harming Activities

When you're finally all grown up and free of the abuse from your childhood, it seems like a strange idea to continue to harm yourself. However, that is the reality for victims who find themselves unworthy of love and deserving of pain.

Mood Swings

Living life in fear of abuse throughout your childhood can result in anxiety as an adult. With so many terrible memories floating around, a sudden gush of them can cause anxious abuse victims to become moody, irritated, or even angry.

Commitment Phobia

If those closest to you as a child felt the need to abuse you, what's to stop someone else from doing it? That's generally the line of thinking for victims who find it difficult to commit to long term relationships. There's always a niggling feeling that you can't trust anyone.

Prone To Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Those who have experienced child abuse are far more likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol, as a way to cope with what happened to them. While it can feel soothing to the victim at the time, this is an unhealthy habit that will only make things worse.