Troubled pasts

Lately the books I have been reading and the interviews I have been listening to on the radio have left me reflecting the diverse ways that people have reacted to troubled pasts.

The impact of childhood trauma on the brain

Theorists like Bruce Perry, Frank Putman and Douglas Bremner have concluded from research studies that repeated trauma and violence decreases the size of the child’s developing brain and inhibits the development of the parts of the brain responsible for learning, managing behavioural and emotional reactions, social reasoning and social skill development, and that this in turn impacts on success at school, employment and relationships. This can result in an increased risk of anxiety, depression and difficulties forming attachments to others (and can link to subsequent mental disorders and substance abuse disorders).

On the other hand, most of what we know about the human brain is theory, and theory suggests that the human brain is also capable of healing and re-growth, and there are other factors that help develop resiliency.

Listening to people’s stories

Margaret Throsby’s midday interviews on ABC Classic FM engage with a diverse range of people who are well known in particular fields or who have studied the lives of other well-known people. In most interviews she asks about the interviewee’s childhood, and it is amazing how many of the people have experienced troubled pasts. Most have moved on from these pasts and have become very successful in their chosen specialities, but some of those who write about others talk about people becoming mass murders and/ or difficult personalities.

Two books led to me reflecting further – one a biography, and the other fiction.

The Tsunami Kids: Our Journey from Survival to Success by The Gandy Brothers (Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, London, 2014) is about four children who survived the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka which killed their parents, but left them with horrific memories. Despite this the two oldest brothers subsequently set up a successful business making Gandy flip-flop shoes and a charity Orphans for Orphans.

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy (Orion Paperback, London, 2013) covers the backgrounds of a diverse range of people who are the first guests of a newly established hotel on the coast of Ireland. The troubled pasts of some have impacted in various ways – one is a social isolate who is unable to see any good in anything, one becomes a slave to his father’s business (but finds new freedom through music), one is a reformed delinquent, two are traumatised doctors (having  witnessed traumatic events related to patients) who take up country practice, but the one who has not had a troubled past becomes vulnerable to the charms and manipulation of a married man (leading to  inevitable distress  when the truth is revealed to her).

So what makes the difference?

I am left to ponder about the answer to this question. Is there any research occurring in this area, or is it too complicated, I wonder? I imagine that resilience is a factor, as is the individual’s world views. 

From my own childhood I have learnt how not to parent (learning from the mistakes of others). And I have learned from clients that those who are willing to engage in the process of healing do have more positive outcomes. I believe that any work we do with clients that frees them up from their past, or tilts them towards more positive outcomes, is worth-while.

What do you think?