Stuck at a Certain Age due to Emotional Trauma: What Psychiatrists Are Saying About This Phenomenon
Have you ever met someone that seems as though he or she is more emotionally close to an age that is far younger than his or her chronological age? Sometimes people are just naturally like this, but more often than not, a trauma at a specific age left that particular person unable to move past that age. Psychiatrists have been studying this psychological and emotional phenomenon for over two decades now. Here is more about the subject, and what psychiatrists are doing to treat people with emotional and psychological traumas that leave them stuck at the age of traumatic events.
Types of Traumatic Events
Many traumatic events may have a physical component, but psychiatrists are now finding out that there does not have to be physical trauma for a person to be traumatized. There are events that leave a person beaten down emotionally or living in extreme fear or anxiety, and these incidents can cause just as much trauma. It is not only about physical or sexual abuse or PTSD from war-torn areas. Now, major losses that are felt, or major threats to one's happiness and well-being, are considered traumas as well.
Examples of non-physical traumas include:
- Loss of a very important relationship via car accident, death, break-up, kidnapping, or even when small children are forcibly removed from their homes and the only parents they know
- Being forced to make money for an adult you trusted to care for you, only to have your paychecks taken away and used for nefarious purposes
- Being told daily how useless, stupid, etc., you are, or being called names that are not pleasant or rather vulgar, etc.
- Lack of or removal of love and affection from a caregiver at any age (the patient becomes "stuck" at the age in which the parent stopped showing love and affection)
Many of these traumas can be worked through with psychological treatment.
Treating the Emotionally Stunted or Immature Patient
Patients who find themselves stuck at a certain age and unable to advance to their chronological maturity can begin treatment with a cognitive behavioral therapist or a psychiatrist. The professional will help the patient find the source of past trauma and then delve into why that trauma was so painful. Learning how to move forward from that moment is also part of the process.
If you personally feel like this type of situation describes you or someone you know, you can discuss it fully with someone who specializes in psychiatric treatment. You may find the whole process very cathartic and reassuring. Being able to move on from the age you were stuck in and to grow emotionally and psychologically as a person will also help you formulate better friendships and relationships with others.
Contact the mental health professionals at Commonwealth Affiliates PC for more information or assistance.
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