Fade the Scars of Past Trauma & Start Living: A Conversation with Dr. Claudia Black

One in five is suffering from a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. Depression, substance abuse, social anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation are experienced at alarming rates for those of this young age. While there are numerous contributing factors that put young people at risk for these problems, the Claudia Black Young Adult Center recognizes that many are carrying scars from unchosen suffering.

It’s more common than not that when a young adult comes to treatment, there are secrets they have been hiding from their parents. On the outside, the signs may look like a decline in their academic functioning, increased social isolation, or alignment with peers who are a poor influence, but buried deep within is the pain of unresolved emotional trauma. The external negative influences that extend inward and destroy their spirit may include:

• Bullying — This may have begun at home with siblings or in the classroom at school. Today, bullying has extended from an in-person experience to the Internet, via social media, having a synergistic and devastating impact.
• Physical Abuse — The offenders of physical abuse are often siblings, parents, step-parents, or older, bigger kids in the neighborhood. To be a witness of abuse occurring in the home can be just as negatively impactful.
• Emotional Abandonment — This can occur from a variety of experiences, including when a child’s needs are overlooked due to family addiction or mental health issues, divorce, unrealistic expectations, adoption, or rejection due to sexual orientation.
• Sexual Abuse — This type of abuse includes incest — having been molested by someone in the family system—molestation by those outside the family, and rape, whether by a stranger or someone known to the victim.
• Loss and Grief — The loss of someone or something important can create confusion and pain, leaving the young adult with intense emotions and an inability to cope. Having these losses occur at a time in a young person’s life when they are developing their identity often fuels depression, forms of self harm, and addiction.