Why Is My Childhood Still Affecting Me? How Childhood Trauma Shows Up in Adulthood Do you ever wonder, "Why is my childhood still affecting me when I'm an adult now?" Maybe you understand what happened in your childhood. You've prayed about it, thought about it, talked about it, or tried to move past it. But certain situations still trigger anxiety, shame, people-pleasing, fear of rejection, overthinking, anger, relationship struggles, or the urge to shut down and protect yourself. You may know better now — but somehow, you still don't always feel differently. In this episode of Trauma Healing for Christian Women, Michelle Croyle, LPC, EMDR-Certified therapist, explains why childhood experiences can continue to affect your emotions, beliefs, relationships, and nervous system long after childhood is over — and why that doesn't mean you have to stay stuck there. Why Does Childhood Trauma Affect You as an Adult? As children, we interpret painful, confusing, embarrassing, frightening, or overwhelming experiences with a child's brain and a child's understanding of the world. We don't yet have the perspective, experience, emotional tools, or problem-solving abilities we develop as adults. So we adapt. We may learn to hide, stay quiet, please people, avoid vulnerability, disconnect from our feelings, expect rejection, take responsibility for other people, or believe something painful about ourselves. Those responses may have helped us get through something then. But what protected us in childhood can become the very thing keeping us stuck in adulthood. When You Need Help Going Deeper Not every trauma response should be explored alone. If slowing down brings up overwhelming emotions, memories, body sensations, or experiences that are difficult to regulate, working with a qualified trauma therapist may help you explore what's underneath your reactions more safely. Trauma therapy can help you understand the connection between your current triggers and earlier experiences while developing healthier ways of responding in the present. You don't have to force yourself through something overwhelming in order to heal. Christian Trauma Therapy and EMDR Intensives in Pennsylvania If you keep wondering, "Why do I react this way when I know I'm safe?", there may be something underneath the reaction that needs attention. THERAPY WITH MICHELLE Have you been looking for a Trauma-Informed Therapist who is also a Christian? Do you want to honor your faith even in your therapy? Would you love to incorporate deep healing in a way that aligns with God's Word and evidence-based treatments for trauma healing? I offer THERAPY INTENSIVES which help you to go deeper and with faster results than weekly therapy can provide. Learn more at: www.emdrpittsburgh.com. For a Free Consultation Call: If you would like to see about working with me in an EMDR Intensive, you can schedule a free 15 minute consultation call so that we can get to know each other and see if I am a good match for your therapy needs. Go to www.calendly.com/michellecroyle to connect with me. FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: Join our free Facebook Community For Encouragement and Support: CLICK HERE FREE RESOURCE: If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gently explains how healing happens in the body and why you're not failing. Free Trauma Healing Resource Guide *All content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered professional counseling. If you need professional therapy, please seek it out, and if you are in immediate danger, please contact emergency services near you. IN THIS EPISODE In this episode, Michelle shares a funny but surprisingly revealing story about a second-grade crush — and what happened when a friend exposed her secret. Her childhood solution? Hide. Deny the feelings. Don't let yourself be seen. It reduced the embarrassment in the moment, but it also prevented the very connection she actually wanted. That simple childhood story illustrates something much bigger: Children create ways of surviving situations they don't yet know how to handle. And sometimes we carry those same rules into adulthood without realizing it. Your rules might sound more like: Don't let people see the real me. Don't make anyone angry. I have to keep everyone happy. My feelings aren't important. I can't trust people. I have to handle everything myself. If someone is upset, I must have done something wrong. It's safer not to need anything. I have to be perfect to be accepted. I shouldn't be angry. I need to disappear when conflict happens. These patterns aren't necessarily who you are. They may be ways you learned to protect yourself. When Survival Patterns Stop Helping One of the most important questions Michelle asks in this episode is: What are you still living by that is now hurting you? Maybe a childhood response helped you survive rejection, criticism, emotional neglect, embarrassment, instability, betrayal, conflict, or another painful experience. You don't have to hate that response or shame yourself for developing it. Instead, you can begin asking: That helped me get here — but will it help me get where I want to go? Healing gives you the opportunity to understand where these patterns came from, process the experiences underneath them, and decide what you want to carry forward and what you are finally ready to leave behind. Can EMDR Help With Childhood Trauma? EMDR therapy can help people identify and process painful experiences, beliefs, triggers, and patterns that continue to affect them in the present. In her work with EMDR therapy intensives, Michelle helps clients explore the experiences connected to their current stuck points, process what still needs healing, and develop healthier ways of understanding themselves and responding in the present. You aren't a child anymore. Today, you can bring adult perspective, compassion, new experiences, new choices, and God's truth back to places where a younger version of you didn't have those resources. You get to decide: What do I want to keep — and what am I ready to let go of? In This Episode, You'll Learn Why childhood experiences can still affect you as an adult How childhood trauma can influence adult relationships and emotions Why children sometimes blame themselves for things they couldn't understand How protective childhood behaviors can become adult patterns Why shame and vulnerability can lead to hiding or avoidance How childhood beliefs can influence anxiety and overthinking Why understanding a pattern isn't always enough to change it How your nervous system can continue responding to old experiences How to recognize survival strategies that no longer serve you How trauma therapy can help you process childhood wounds How EMDR can address beliefs, triggers, memories, and stuck points How faith and evidence-based trauma therapy can work together How to approach your younger self with compassion rather than judgment How healing can help you respond from your adult self instead of an old wound Questions This Episode Answers Why is my childhood still affecting me? Childhood experiences can shape beliefs, emotional responses, relationship patterns, and protective behaviors before you have an adult's ability to understand what is happening. Why do I keep repeating childhood patterns? Some patterns began as ways of protecting yourself or maintaining safety and connection. Even when circumstances change, those learned responses can continue automatically. Can you heal childhood trauma as an adult? Yes. Healing can include understanding your patterns, processing unresolved experiences and emotions, developing new perspectives and learning healthier ways to respond in the present. Can EMDR help with childhood wounds? EMDR is one approach Michelle uses to help clients process experiences and beliefs connected to present-day triggers and stuck points. Can Christian faith and trauma therapy work together? They don't have to compete. Evidence-based trauma therapy can respect your Christian faith while helping you understand and address emotional wounds, nervous-system responses, beliefs, and patterns that continue to affect your life. Ready to Stop Letting the Past Run the Present? You may understand your childhood intellectually and still feel as though your mind, emotions, relationships, or body haven't gotten the message that you're safe to respond differently now. You don't have to keep living according to rules you developed when you were too young to know another way. If you're ready to understand what's keeping you stuck and explore deeper trauma healing, Michelle Croyle, LPC, is an EMDR-Certified trauma therapist offering EMDR therapy and therapeutic intensives in Pennsylvania. Visit EMDRPittsburgh.com to learn more about trauma therapy and EMDR intensives or to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Michelle. You can also find the link in the show notes to join the free Trauma Healing for Christian Women Facebook community. About Michelle Croyle, LPC Michelle Croyle is a Licensed Professional Counselor and EMDR-Certified therapist who helps Christian women work through anxiety, trauma, emotional wounds, painful relationship experiences, and patterns that continue to keep them stuck. She is the host of Trauma Healing for Christian Women. Her approach brings together evidence-based trauma therapy, nervous-system awareness, and respect for Christian faith — because you shouldn't have to choose between good therapy and having your faith understood. If this episode helped you, share it with someone who may need it and consider leaving a rating or review so more women can find the show. This podcast is for educational and informational pu
