Childhood trauma can leave emotional wounds, deep ones, and for many LGBTQ+ adults it’s these experiences from childhood that shape how they create their identities, establish relationships, and the status of their mental health.
Someone who grows up in an environment that rejects or stigmatizes who you are will have scars that are difficult to heal. For anyone that wants to reclaim their sense of self and their identity, they need to acknowledge these childhood traumas and work towards healing.
When Children Struggle with Their Identity
Anyone who grows up in an unwelcoming or hostile home or environment will face a battle between who they are and who the world expects them to be. This is something that’s a common battle for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Battling between who you feel to be inside and who your family and friends and the world around you expect you to be can result in what’s called a fractured identity. You’re forced to grow up suppressing your true self because you’re scared of being rejected or even worse, being harmed.
These types of feelings can only be worked on by healing through inner child work. These types of inner hurts can lead to disconnection which takes its toll. Children with scars like these on the inside become adults who question their worth and struggle to figure out where they belong.
Healing through inner child work is a large step in finding the source of the pain in these early experiences in life. You have to revisit these old wounds, these scars, that helped to shape your adult identity. LGBTQ+ adults who work on healing these scars can start a new life where they can build stronger, real relationships with themselves.
“I don’t want to be rejected or alone”
One of the strongest and deeply rooted manifestations of childhood trauma is fear of rejection. LGBTQ+ adults faced rejection or abandonment regularly as children. These formative years of childhood are important but when family, friends, and society make you fight your inner person you become an adult who’s scared that everyone will leave them, who’s scared that revealing their true self will make people walk away.
These are people who struggle to trust, who are always expecting to be hurt, or even who push people away because they’re scared to get too close.
LGBTQ+ adults who suffered in childhood create walls around themselves and these walls make it difficult to have healthy and supportive relationships. To take down these walls as an adult, you have to search inside for where this fear comes from and work through it to build your emotional foundation in a more secure way. Just as it took time to create these thoughts, it takes time and patience to undo them. What your time is worth it, healing is worth it.
Trauma and Long-Term Mental Health
Mental health can be a struggle for everyone but these struggles are often intensified by the trauma that LGBTQ+ individuals went through as a child. From anxiety to depression, these mental health issues are often caused by unresolved trauma.
Trauma from childhood can and will continue to affect someone well into adulthood. Are you surprised that many LGBTQ+ adults who went through a traumatic childhood also deal with higher rates of mental health challenges like PTSD, depression, or substance use disorders?
There is nothing wrong with seeking out professional help or a community to help support you in your mental health struggles. Many individuals find peace and safety with trauma-informed therapy. This is a therapy that focuses on addressing your specific experiences, not something generic. It will also connect you with others who understand and have been there themselves.
The Road to Healing
It may seem daunting if you have suffered from childhood trauma, but there is hope and a path to healing for LGBTQ+ adults. That road requires you to reconnect with your authentic self. You need to learn to trust again and find a space and place where you accept yourself so that others will accept you too.
These are the key steps on your journey to recovery. There are support networks, both professional and personal, that offer you a safe place to confront your past and build a healthier future.
Final Thoughts
The finding of therapy that focuses on inner child healing, trauma recovery, or finding community support can be a powerful thing for an LGBTQ+ adult. There are many benefits to supportive communities beyond how they help with your recovery. You have the strength to heal and move forward and part of that is knowing that you are seeing, hearing, and accepting on your path.
