Twitter Thread By Therapist Omar Bazza About Childhood Trauma Will Explain Your Regular Mental Breakdowns
I feel like we tend to underestimate how our childhoods shape who we grow up to be. Of course, our adult experiences shape us, but we carry a lot of the pain and trauma we experienced. And it can take a lot for one to get over these scars. However, with therapy and actual mental health awareness, one can eventually heal.
I have covered a Twitter thread by Omar Bazza previously. Omar Bazza is a therapist and he usually posts awareness Tweets about various topics in the mental health sector. This time he shared a thread on the effects of childhood trauma and how to process it. Considering that I have barely processed mine, let’s check out what he has to say
[THREAD] Let’s talk about the importance of what happened in our childhood, why we need to process the traumas that occurred then, and how it can help us for our long-term wellbeing. Infancy and early childhood contain some of the most critical parts of our development.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
It is understandable that one’s caregiver will have such a major impact on them.
These include but not limited to emotions, attachment, exploring environment and how we view the world. Because of the young age in which all these factors occur, they will be heavily influenced by our caregivers, how they treat us and how they approach their environment.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
I have been told that I was good at reading my mother’s expressions very early on,
There have been many studies that show toddlers before the age of 1 are able to read their caregivers’ emotions and it makes sense. We are helpless at that time and rely fully on our caregivers for all aspects of survival. If they are anxious or depressed, we will mirror that.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Since that attachment is the most fundamental piece of our development, it can get stunted pretty early. For example, if an infant is left to cry (because they are just being fussy), it teaches the toddler that their needs will not be met.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Also Read: Twitter Thread By Therapist Omar Bazza Linking Procrastination With Mental Health Will Change How You See ‘Laziness’
Is it just me or are his words resonating with you too?
Given that the toddler doesn’t feel secure in their attachment with their caregivers, they will start developing either an anxious attachment where they feel afraid to explore or be separated from their caregivers or an avoidant attachment style in which they don’t care anymore.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
That is why many of us tend to have behavioural patterns which we don’t fully understand,
While we cannot remember these periods of our life, the same patterns continue to the time we start to be fully aware and form long term memories. For example, were our caregivers in tune with our needs? Did they ignore us or punish us? Did they hit us or scare us into submission
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Wow, I was not expecting to be personally attacked at work today,
All these traumas and aggressions stick with us and influence our mental health way into adulthood. If we felt unsafe in our home environment or not supported, we likely feel the same way in our friendships and relationships.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Is that why I am a pessimist?
If every time we were happy, our caregivers told us bad things are going to happen so don’t get too excited, then we will learn to smother our happiness because it is a sign of upcoming bad events. It is important to go back to our childhood moments and journal about them.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Also Read: Mental Health Awareness Month: Does Substance Abuse Affect Your Menstrual Cycle? Expert Explains
The memories that we have serve a purpose. None of our memories occur by accidents. The save button of our brain is emotion. The stronger the emotion, the more likely the memory is to be strong and vivid. All our memories have emotions attached to them.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Seeking therapy is so important!
When we explore them and truly look at them, we can start to identify these patterns. This is especially beneficial if done with a therapist who can show us that it is okay to accept these memories and to be guide and validate us for any emotion that we show when we remember.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
I feel like my building has been collapsed for a while,
We tend to separate/create artificial chapters in life. For example, we were children, then teenagers, then young adults, etc. But the reality is more that of a building, where everything stacks on top of each other. If the foundation is not strong, the building collapses.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Explains a lot of my weekly breakdowns,
In fact, it has been theorized that the reason why we go through mental health breakdowns is because the mind tries to make everything collapse so that we can start with a stronger foundation and that it is a function that our brains use as a form of reset button.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Many forms of therapy such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focus mainly on the present and recent past and they are very efficient, but it is important to also incorporate elements of processing childhood traumas for long lasting results.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
Self awareness and working on our issues can go a long way
The more aware and we process our childhood in a healthy way, the more we can learn to love ourselves, let go of the shame or feeling that we are somehow inferior and our dependency on others for love and validation. It is an arduous path and one that is not easy.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
If you are someone who is going through this, just remember that you are doing well and I am proud of you
It requires us to face the very same monsters in our minds that we have tried running away from and ignoring. But done safely and with people who support us unconditionally, it can pave the way for a form of recovery that is more solid and longer lasting.
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
I hope that this thread helped shed light on why it is important to process our childhood and the traumas, attachment styles with caregivers and other experiences that happened in order to help our mental health and change unhealthy patterns we may have picked up. Love ❤️
— Omar Bazza (@bazzapower) July 12, 2022
This thread by Omar Bazza has been very enlightening. We sometimes are so focused on our present that we forget the repercussions of childhood traumas. It is important to work towards healing from these which may hinder your growth and progress. Bazza also has a YouTube channel and his Tweets do provide insight into mental health and trauma.
