Having a difficult childhood can make life hard on you, later on, there is no doubt about that. And while we all have tough situations in childhood – there are some ways that our childhood shapes us that can be hard to overcome.
If you suffer from anxiety and had a bad childhood, you will likely resonate with the signs below. While anxiety can be caused by several reasons, there are some major indicators that your anxiety is rooted in a bad childhood. Here are 9 signs of anxiety that are caused by a difficult childhood.
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1. You have trust issues.
You may often find it difficult to trust others, even when it’s necessary to make the relationship thrive. In turn, you may have a hard time getting close to others, because you are afraid they will eventually hurt you.
2. You doubt yourself a lot.
When you try to make major decisions, you find that you become increasingly anxious. You may struggle to make major decisions because you are scared you will make the wrong one.
3. You have frequent panic attacks when you think about childhood.
If thinking about your childhood makes you feel anxious or panicky, it’s likely the root of your anxiety. Having a difficult childhood can be hard to think about- and if it gets so bad that it causes you to have a panic attack, it’s likely a driving force in your extreme anxiety.
4. You have difficulty with conflict.
When conflict arises, you may find that you begin to panic, or try to avoid it altogether. This can make life increasingly difficult, especially when you avoid letting others know they are invading your boundaries out of fear of the conflict it may cause.
5. Communication makes you anxious.
Since our parents teach us how to communicate by how they communicate with us- a bad childhood can leave us handicapped when it comes to communicating.
6. You have a hard time handling small stressors.
Even the slightest bit of stress may send you over the edge. You may observe others handling the same stressors and dealing with them with ease- but for you, even something as simple as losing a pen may throw off your entire week.
7. You catastrophize, a lot.
When worrying about things and stressing- you may often envision the worst-case scenario. Before everything is said and done, you may talk yourself out of completely harmless endeavors due to fears that the worst will inevitably happen.
8. You have bedtime anxiety.
At night, when it’s time for bed, you may feel all the thoughts, doubts and worries emerge from your day. No matter how hard you may try to let go of those thoughts, they may often keep you up or even cause panic attacks at night.
9. You are terrified of failure.
Everyone sometimes fails- it’s just part of life. Unfortunately, though, when we experience a bad childhood, we are often exposed to very difficult and traumatic events. Because of this, even the slightest failure may feel like doom.