121: What is Childhood Trauma and is it the Cause of my Food Addiction?

The Dr. Carolyn Coker Ross Show: Binge Eating Disorder, Stress Eating, Emotional Eating, Food Addiction

What is trauma? Well, in the past, most people would say, "Trauma is severe abuse or neglect." But our more modern definition of trauma is that trauma is anything that causes you to lose an essential part of yourself – a sense of security or safety, peace or love. Over 2/3 of children under age 16 reported at least 1 traumatic event by age 16. What is important to understand is that trauma is common in individuals with substance use disorders and eating disorders. In fact, a history of trauma can increase your risk for attention deficit disorder, depression, anxiety as well as many medical issues including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Recognizing that you or a family member has experienced childhood trauma can help you understand why you’ve had trouble dealing with food and body image issues such as food addiction, binge eating and emotional eating.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. What are examples of childhood trauma?
2. How does childhood trauma lead to binge eating, food addiction or emotional eating?
3. What can family members do to help heal childhood trauma?