Childhood Trauma Doesn’t Disappear—But It Can Be Healed

You might not talk about your childhood much, but sometimes, it still shows up: in your relationships, your self-worth, your anxiety, or your need to stay “in control.” You might minimize it. You might not even call it trauma. But something in you still feels unsettled, unseen, or unsafe.

The truth is: childhood trauma doesn’t disappear just because we grow up. But it can be acknowledged, processed, and gently healed with the right support.

What Counts as Childhood Trauma?

You don’t have to have survived extreme abuse for something to be traumatic. Childhood trauma can include:

• Emotional neglect or inconsistent caregiving

• Criticism, control, or conditional love

• Parentification (having to “be the adult” too soon)

• Growing up around addiction, mental illness, or chronic stress

• Feeling invisible, unsafe, or never good enough

• Being punished for expressing needs or emotions

These experiences shape how we see ourselves, trust others, and navigate relationships.

How It Shows Up in Adulthood

Unprocessed trauma can lead to:

• Fear of abandonment or rejection

• People-pleasing or emotional shutdown

• Difficulty trusting or being vulnerable

• Anxiety, chronic guilt, or self-criticism

• Feeling emotionally “numb” or easily overwhelmed

• Repeating unhealthy relationship patterns

You might think, “But my parents did the best they could.” That may be true—and it’s also true that your pain deserves to be acknowledged.

Healing the Inner Child Isn’t About Blame—It’s About Repair

Inner child work in therapy helps you:

• Understand how your current patterns were once survival strategies

• Reconnect with the parts of you that were silenced, shamed, or dismissed

• Build emotional safety, trust, and boundaries

• Learn to give yourself the love and care you didn’t receive consistently

• Finally, stop fighting your past and start living in the present

Healing doesn’t mean erasing your history but freeing yourself from its grip.

Work With Darly Sebastian, LPC, LMHC

Darly Sebastian offers trauma-informed therapy for adults who are ready to break generational patterns, reconnect with their core self, and create emotionally safe relationships. She is licensed in Texas, Florida, and Vermont, and integrates IFS, psychodynamic therapy, and somatic awareness to support deep, meaningful healing.

You’re Not Overreacting—You’re Remembering. And You Deserve to Heal.

If old wounds keep showing up in new places, therapy can help you reclaim your story and self-worth.

Book a consultation with Darly Sebastian today.