EMDR Therapy: Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults
Do you sometimes feel triggered by certain people, places, or experiences—but can’t quite explain why? You may find yourself reacting strongly to situations that seem harmless on the surface, leaving you confused, anxious, or emotionally overwhelmed. If you’ve ever wondered whether something from your childhood is still affecting you today, it may be worth exploring the signs of repressed childhood trauma.
How the Brain Responds to Childhood Trauma
When children go through traumatic experiences, their brains may suppress or “lock away” painful memories as a survival strategy. This isn’t a conscious decision—it’s how the brain protects itself. While this coping mechanism may help in the moment, the long-term effects of repressed trauma often show up later in life, sometimes without warning or explanation.
These hidden wounds can shape how you react to stress, form relationships, regulate emotions, and even view yourself.
Childhood Trauma and Memory Loss
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur before age 18. These include abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. The original ACE study identified ten key experiences that can significantly affect long-term mental, emotional, and physical health:
Physical abuse
Verbal abuse
Sexual abuse
Physical neglect
Emotional neglect
Substance-abusing parent(s)
Domestic violence
Household mental illness
Parental separation, divorce, abandonment, or death
Incarcerated family member
These early traumas can impair your brain’s ability to form and retrieve memories, especially when dissociation is involved. Dissociative amnesia—a condition where you lose autobiographical memory—may be the brain’s way of shielding you from unbearable pain. Over time, however, the emotional and physiological impact of these buried memories often surfaces in daily life.
8 Common Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults
1. Unexplained Reactions to Certain People
You may meet someone and instantly feel unsafe or uncomfortable without knowing why. This could be a trauma response—your body reacting to subtle reminders of someone who harmed you in the past.
2. Anxiety in Specific Places
Sometimes a room, a smell, or a sound can activate a trauma memory. Even if you don’t consciously remember the original event, your nervous system does—and it may trigger fight, flight, or freeze reactions.
3. Intense Emotional Swings
If your emotions shift quickly and without clear reason, it may be a sign of unresolved trauma. Small triggers may cause overwhelming anger, fear, or sadness—echoes of the past being replayed in the present.
4. Attachment and Abandonment Fears
People with repressed trauma often struggle with abandonment anxiety and cling tightly to relationships. Even brief separations may feel threatening and unbearable.
5. Chronic Anxiety
While anxiety is common, trauma-based anxiety is often persistent, unexplained, and resistant to typical coping strategies. It may feel like a constant undercurrent you can’t escape.
6. Child-Like Behaviors and Regression
Frequent regressions—tantrums, stubbornness, baby talk—can indicate that a wounded inner child is trying to be heard. These behaviors often surface in moments of stress or conflict.
7. Constant Exhaustion
Repressing trauma takes energy. If you’re chronically drained, struggling to focus, or emotionally numb, your nervous system may be working overtime just to keep you “functioning.”
8. Difficulty Handling Normal Stress
Everyday stressors may feel unbearable or triggering. You may overreact or shut down in situations others seem to handle with ease, often without understanding why.
How EMDR and IFS Therapy Help Heal Repressed Trauma
Recognizing the signs of repressed trauma is the first step. Healing begins when you allow yourself to safely explore these buried experiences—with the right support.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy that helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories and reduce emotional distress. It works by engaging both sides of the brain through bilateral stimulation, allowing you to safely revisit and reframe past events.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) complements EMDR by helping you identify and work with the "parts" of yourself that were hurt, shamed, or abandoned. In IFS, we help you connect with your younger, wounded parts—and support you in reparenting those parts with compassion and care.
Together, EMDR and IFS create a powerful pathway for integrating the past, regulating your emotions, and reclaiming your peace.
You Don’t Have to Carry the Past Alone
If this blog resonated with you, know that you’re not alone—and your experiences are valid. You deserve support, healing, and peace.
If you’re ready to begin the healing journey, schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if EMDR or IFS therapy is right for you.