Let’s Hear It For The Walking Wounded
#MentalHealthAwareness week seems a fitting time for us at Breakthrough to launch a new blog, to raise awareness and discuss issues around childhood abuse and trauma. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re surrounded by the walking-wounded – those who are carrying the emotional and psychological injuries, caused by childhood abuse and other forms of trauma.
A staggering 1 in 4 people in the UK are abused or maltreated in some way as children. What is often not understood, is just how long the impact of that abuse can last, and what profound effects it can have on the mental health of adult survivors. Many survivors suffer chronic depression and anxiety, and a significant number develop other forms of mental distress as well.
80% of survivors are likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives – that’s more than twice the level in the general population. Over 90% of those with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have a history of childhood abuse, and 50% of people diagnosed with Schizophrenia report having been sexually abused when they were young.
80% of survivors are likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives
Unfortunately, the services and resources to provide appropriate treatment for those damaged in these ways are woefully lacking. Most people, if they receive any help at all are treated with psychiatric medication that does little more than suppress the symptoms, whilst also having a number of distressing and sometimes dangerous side-effects. A lucky few may be given access to what are called ‘psychological treatments’. However, this usually consists of a few sessions of short-term therapies that are generally recognised as being unhelpful for survivors of trauma – particularly the complex trauma that goes with being abused as a child.
There are forms of psychotherapy that can help survivors of course. But due to budgetary constraints and the short term thinking that is endemic when considering service provision, almost none of these treatments are available or affordable to the average survivor.
… we need to change the way we think about and help those who have been wounded by childhood abuse
That’s why we started Breakthrough as a charity — because survivors of abuse deserve better. As a society we need to change the way we think about and help those who have been wounded by childhood abuse. We’re on a mission to resource survivors and those who support them, by providing effective treatment, education and training. This new blog is just one of a number of ways in which we at Breakthrough are moving that mission forward.
We certainly do need to raise awareness of mental health – not just this week, but every day. However, we also need to raise awareness about the abuse and other trauma that is so often the root cause of mental distress. Not everyone with mental health issues is a survivor of abuse and trauma, but millions are, and these millions need and deserve far more than they are currently getting in the way of appropriate treatment and support.
We certainly do need to raise awareness of mental health — not just this week, but every day
So let’s hear it for the walking-wounded. In a very real sense, survivors are unsung heroes. They’ve made it through many battles and emerged wounded, but still victorious. Often they’re holding it together by the skin of their teeth, and making their way through a world that seems not to know or care enough really to help in the ways that are needed. With 1 in 4 of the population being survivors, it means that every single one of us has been impacted, directly or indirectly, by the legacy of childhood abuse. This isn’t “someone else’s problem” or something that happens in a far away place. It is a part of all of our lives. Being affected means we all need to take ownership and responsibility for helping to make things better. Let’s stand with survivors in raising awareness, and in demanding access to effective treatments. Above all else, let us come alongside, and ask both them and ourselves what we personally can do to love, care and support them on their journey of recovery.
About the Author
Giles Lascelle is a UKCP accredited psychotherapist, a psychodramatist and a survivor. He has worked for over 30 years with other survivors of trauma and childhood abuse. He has run therapy groups and provided training within the NHS, Social Services, and a range of voluntary organisations working in the fields of mental health and addiction. He is the founder of Breakthrough — a charity that works with adult survivors of childhood abuse and their supporters.
You can find out more about Giles’s work with Breakthrough at: traumabreakthrough.org or at: facebook.com/traumabreakthrough
