7 surprising strengths of people who’ve had childhood trauma

As a psychiatrist working with people who have experienced childhood trauma, I often focus on a person’s strengths. Trauma, because it happened in the past, can’t be ‘fixed’ but it can be processed and laid to rest. The brain adapts to find an advantage, a useful edge from almost every experience. It learns to be better. Overcoming adversity is the mechanism of survival. Our brains rewire to learn new skills and adapt. Childhood trauma can actually catalyse the development of skills in the areas of attention, perception, memory, and problem-solving.[i] You can imagine that people who grew up in chaotic environments, may have brains which have adapted to shift between topics effortlessly.[ii] This too is a worthwhile skill.

 People who have experienced childhood trauma, have “hidden talents.”[iii] We can use the lens of adaptation and overcoming adversity for surviving and thriving[iv] to find these surprising strengths. Here are seven.

 1. Enhanced problem-solving skills.

In trauma, a brain is not just a passive victim or by-stander. It learns to look for a way out and to overcome. This contributes to the development of enhanced problem-solving skills. A person may now find a way through where others seem to struggle.

 2. Able to read people’s emotions better.

A brain which has survived trauma knows how to read the cues of possible upcoming attack sooner and more accurately. This means reading emotions. People with this skill are ‘sensitive’ to others’ emotions as a developed skill.

3. Increased motor and mental skills (even increased IQ).

The evidence for this is on very early trauma. A very young brain in a position needing to process more complex experiences can be placed on a more efficient developmental trajectory. In my clinical practice, I have been amazed how many people having suffered trauma have become sensitive musicians, gifted writers or gymnasts, for example. Perhaps these are linked? Trauma + early development in motor and mental skills + higher achievement in a special area.

4. Accuracy in labelling others’ emotions.

A brain which has adapted to adversity not only reads emotional cues faster but is also more accurate in its assessments.

 5. Perceiving real danger and others’ ulterior motives.

We all have an in-built sixth sense we call ‘gut feelings’. The science in how the ‘gut’ may be actively involved in our decision-making is becoming clearer.[v] In people having experienced childhood trauma, this neural pathway may be enhanced. Once bitten, twice shy; a brain becomes programmed so it won’t get fooled again.

 6. Heightened attention to concealed inferences.

Childhood traumas help people ‘read the room’ and be aware of hidden meanings in ways other people won’t believe.

7 Greater empathy for other people.

The idea that people who have suffered have a greater heart for others who suffer is supported in the literature.[vi] We feel each other’s pain through circuitry involving the anterior cingulate gyrus and the amygdala.[vii] This is the neurological basis for empathy. With this, we can help each other. People who have suffered childhood trauma are able to empathize with the suffering of others more.

 As a psychiatrist sub-specialising in trauma, I have seen these ‘special skills’ and ‘hidden talents’ in the people I’ve worked with. They are real. This is not wishful thinking or look at the bright side of life. They are evidence of a brain’s ability to adapt to its environment and seek to overcome adversity to be better. These strengths can be leveraged as special skills to help improve life. Nietzsche’s idea may be scientifically true: what doesn’t kill me can make me stronger.[viii]

 Facing fear holds promise not only for treating and overcoming anxiety and PTSD, but for building resilience through adaptation in the brain.[ix] Nietzsche’s maxim reflects reality; scientifically we know that perseverance predicts success.[x] But it needs qualifying: what doesn’t kill me may make me stronger, if I can overcome it,[xi] or if I learn from it a special skill, hidden talent or surprising strength.

Take Care

Dr Christian Heim

[i] Ellis, Bruce J., JeanMarie Bianchi, Vladas Griskevicius, and Willem E. Frankenhuis. "Beyond risk and protective factors: An adaptation-based approach to resilience." Perspectives on Psychological Science 12, no. 4 (2017): 561-587.

 [ii] Mittal, Chiraag, Vladas Griskevicius, Jeffry A. Simpson, Sooyeon Sung, and Ethan S. Young. "Cognitive adaptations to stressful environments: When childhood adversity enhances adult executive function." Journal of personality and social psychology 109, no. 4 (2015): 604.

[iii] Ellis, Bruce J., Laura S. Abrams, Ann S. Masten, Robert J. Sternberg, Nim Tottenham, and Willem E. Frankenhuis. "Hidden talents in harsh environments." Development and psychopathology 34, no. 1 (2022): 95-113.

[iv] Ellis, Bruce J., JeanMarie Bianchi, Vladas Griskevicius, and Willem E. Frankenhuis. "Beyond risk and protective factors: An adaptation-based approach to resilience." Perspectives on Psychological Science 12, no. 4 (2017): 561-587.

[v] Mayer, Emeran A. "Gut feelings: the emerging biology of gut–brain communication." Nature reviews neuroscience 12, no. 8 (2011): 453-466.

 [vi] Lim, Daniel, and David DeSteno. "Suffering and compassion: The links among adverse life experiences, empathy, compassion, and prosocial behavior." Emotion 16, no. 2 (2016): 175.

[vii] Decety, Jean, Greg J. Norman, Gary G. Berntson, and John T. Cacioppo. "A neurobehavioral evolutionary perspective on the mechanisms underlying empathy." Progress in neurobiology 98, no. 1 (2012): 38-48.

 [viii]  Nietzsche, F. Twilight of the Idols. Jovian Press, 1889. Quoted in Wang, Yang, Benjamin F. Jones, and Dashun Wang. "Early-career setback and future career impact." Nature communications 10, no. 1 (2019): 1-10.

 [ix] Frankland, Paul W., and Sheena A. Josselyn. "Facing your fears." Science 360, no. 6394 (2018): 1186-1187.

 [x] Wang, Jones, and Wang. "Early-career setback and future career impact."

 xi] Seery, Mark D., E. Alison Holman, and Roxane Cohen Silver. "Whatever does not kill us: cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience." Journal of personality and social psychology 99, no. 6 (2010): 1025.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Dr Christian Heim