by J J kearns

Created on: March 06, 2009

Though most people see child abuse as the child being beaten, childhood abuse actually comes in many different forms. Each one has it's own separate set of consequences.

When someone suffers from physical abuse, being beat, during childhood that effects tend to hide themselves for some time. Some people come out of the situation showing resilience, some even become over achievers. But, most these people find that their childhood will eventually catch up with them. This usually happened when some sort of new stress is added to the person's life. Say an illness, child birth or death of a family member

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When you compare these unfortunate people to those who have not had a history of child abuse you will find some obvious differences or effects. A person who was physically abused as a child is more likely to have a partner that has substance abuse problems or who may even physically abuse them. They also can suffer from; anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression and insomnia amongst other problems. When someone suffers from these things they find everyday life hard to live with and may even turn to self injury or cutting to try to deal with the emotional pain that they are feeling.

Another form of childhood abuse is neglect. This is when the child's caretaker fails to provide basic human needs for the child. Such as food, proper shelter, clothing and even human contact meaning they fail to talk to the child or even hold the child. Someone that grows up in this type of environment develop a sense of unworthiness They feel like their parents hate them and do not understand why. As adults these people feel like they are never good enough. They suffer from depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Some spend their lives trying to please everyone every way so that they are not rejected others seclude themselves from others. The often feel like they don't deserve love.

The worst type of childhood abuse, in my mind, is sexual abuse. People who have a history of this type of abuse tend to struggle a bit more. Sexual abuse leads to a greater risk or number of health problems. These unfortunate people suffer from more physical symptoms and often have more medical procedures then someone who was not sexually abused.

In addition, a person with this history can suffer from anxiety, depression and they tend to turn to self destructive behaviors. Such as alcohol and drug abuse. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse also may find it hard to have intimate relationships. They may find it difficult to have any form of sexual contact. Some will go to extremes to avoid sexual advances, turning to excessive weight gain and self mutilation in a desperate attempt to turn other away, for fear of it happening again. While others go in the exact opposite direction. They became highly seductive and exhibiting precocious sexual behavior. This puts these people at a higher risk of unintended pregnancy and STD s

It does not matter what kind of childhood abuse someone suffers from. They all will continue to affect these poor souls long after the abuse has stopped. So if you know someone who was abused as a child, please give them all the love and support that you can. If you are a childhood abuse survivor do not try to get through it alone. Find yourself people that will help support and comfort you during those difficult times and good luck.

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