Self-Expression: Can Childhood Trauma Make It Hard For Someone To Express Themselves?

If someone was to take the time to reflect on their own behaviour, what they may find is that it is a challenge for them to express themselves. This is not to say that this won’t ever take place but what it could mean is that this rarely takes place.

Furthermore, they may generally only be able to express themselves when it comes to one area of their life. In general, then, it is not going to be possible for them to express what is taking place inside them.

Severely Restricted

Now, if this wasn’t a problem, they would be able to express themselves in a number of different ways. They would be able to do this through their behaviour, through speaking, writing and by using their hands, for instance.

Thus, they wouldn’t need to rely on one form of expression to share what is taking place inside them with the world. However, as this is something that they struggle with, they are not going to be able to utilise all these options.

One Option

What they may find is that they are able to easily express themselves through writing or art but that this is about as far as it goes. When it comes to talking to people, they might find it hard to feel comfortable and to say what they really mean.

In addition to this, it could be difficult for them to behave how they want to behave. What they could find is that they typically behave how other people want them to and how they think that they want them to.

A Physical Problem

Another part of this is that they may see that they often experience tension in their throat and have throat problems. If this is the case, this will make it even harder for them to express themselves and to speak fluently.

Over the years, they may have taken all kinds of medication and tablets to help soothe this part of their being. Along with this, they may have trouble with their thyroid.

No Connection

Still, they could believe that what is taking place in this part of their being is not connected to the difficulty that they have in expressing themselves. If this is so, this outlook could be seen as a normal part of living in a society that doesn’t really acknowledge the effect that someone’s thought and feelings have on their physical body or their life.

What one could believe, due to what they have been conditioned to believe, is that their genetics are the main reason why their body is responding in this way. This could be backed up by the fact that one of their parents has, or had the same problem.

A Frustrating Life

With that aside for the time being, what is clear is that living in this way is not going to allow them to have a fulfilling existence. Not only will they be used to feeling frustrated and angry, but they could be used to feeling helpless and hopeless.

It could seem as though someone or something ‘out there’ is holding them back and stopping them from freely expressing themselves. It is then not going to be a surprise if they often feel like a powerless victim or even have a victim mentality.

From The Outside

If another person was to hear about the challenge that they have when it comes to self-expression, they might find it hard to understand why. The reason for this is that from the outside, they might not look as though there is anything wrong with them.

In other words, they could look well and each of their limbs could be working fine. Nonetheless, while they will look capable on the outside, they won’t feel capable on the inside.

Inner Conflict

If they were able to connect to their body and to tune into what is going on inside them, they may find that part of them wants to express themselves but another part of them fears doing so. Thanks to this, the part of them that wants to is generally going to be overshadowed by the part of them that doesn’t.

At this point, one could wonder why they would fear doing something that they strongly want to do, something that would bring them so much fulfilment. To understand what is going on, it will most likely be necessary for them to take the time to reflect on their early years.

Back In Time

If they are unable to connect to this stage of their life, it could show that their mind has blocked out what took place in order to protect them. This may have been a time in their life when they were abused and/or neglected on a regular basis.

Ultimately, it wouldn’t have been a time when they received the care that they needed to be able to develop an inner sense of safety, security or worth or to develop properly. Instead, this would have been a time when they were deeply traumatised and came to associate self-expression as something that would cause them to be harmed and/or abandoned.

Too much Of a Risk

So, being in tune with their true-self and allowing this part to define how they behaved was too dangerous. This would have been seen as something that would bring their life to an end.

And, whenever they were hit and/or abandoned, it would have seemed as though they were going to die. They couldn’t fight back or go anywhere, the only thing that they could do was to lose touch with themselves, to develop a false-self and to become a non-entity.

The Past Is Present

Many years will have passed since this stage of their life, yet the pain that they experienced will have stayed trapped inside them. If they have throat problems, it is likely to show that their emotional body has affected their physical body.

This part of their body relates to their fifth chakra, the chakra that is responsible for communication and self-expression. Therefore, it is to be expected that they would have a problem with this part of their body.

Awareness

If one of their parents has or had the same problem, it could show that were also brought up in a dysfunctional environment. It could go back even further than this, though, as one of their parents may have had a similar experience.

If one can relate to this, and they are ready to change their life, they may need to reach out for exte
al support. This is something that can be provided by the assistance of a therapist or healer.