I was reflecting on some of the trauma work that I have done over the years. I spend considerable time and effort trying to recognize how the experiences of early childhood affect the present day in more ways than most individuals acknowledge. As I work with survivors of childhood trauma, I try to focus on what is happening in the present. I often assess self care and sleep. There is a pattern emerging that I have noticed with so many people struggling with sleep. It made me take a pause and explore some of the reasons why. It dawned on me that there is a likely connection with children being sent to their room for a "time out" or because they are being punished. The separation from connection combined with the negative feedback creates the perfect storm of a shame experience that is now connected to sleep. The child has now learned implicitly that being alone in a room, feeling guilt and shame, and doing something wrong results in rejection and aloneness. The child is now having to sleep in that very same place where this possible repeated pattern occurs. Flash foward to an adult with a history of experiences contextually linked to shame, loneliness, perceived rejection and abandonment, resulting in what is often refered to as "emotional flashbacks" that impact their present day sleep.
There is considerable research available that supports that child abuse has detrimental effects on sleep quality. The research has not extended toward making broader connections into how specifically these early childhood experiences affect sleep later in life. One of the ways that I am addressing this concern is by asking the hard questions and using EMDR Therapy to reprocessing learned beliefs. In my work, this type of therapy is resulting in decreased anxiety and depression, better sleep quality and improved self esteem.