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Child abuse is traumatic—leaving lasting emotional scars and possibly even physical and sexual scars. No matter what type of abuse a child suffers from, an abused child may suffer emotional scarring for a lifetime. Unfortunately, there are many more effects of child abuse that can haunt victims for their life, including:
- Damaged sense of self worth. When a child has been emotionally abused, he or she may have trouble believing that he or she is worth anything. Many abused children have a hard time overcoming feelings of being damaged or worthless. This can lead them to settle for things in life and not believe they can do more or that they are worth more.
- Damaged emotions. Abused children often keep their emotions stuffed down inside of them. Failing to express emotions in a healthy way can turn to anger, depression, and anxiety, which can affect their ability to function normally at school, home, or even at work later in life.
- Damaged relationships. Sexual child abuse victims often suffer from relationship difficulties throughout life. This is due to their inability to be able to trust anyone ever again. Even if an abused child is able to trust his or her parents, an abused victim may never be able to trust someone of the opposite sex or same sex. Because of their fear of being abused or controlled, they may have difficulties trusting people—which will hurt their relationships in life and may keep them from having healthy relationships.
Unfortunately, abused children may suffer the emotional effects of abuse for the rest of their lives. In order to help prevent the damaging effects of abuse, it is important for child abuse survivors to seek professional help immediately in order to deal with the effects of being abused.
To learn more about what abused children go through and what you can do to help your child, we invite you to order a free copy of our book, When the Unthinkable Happens: Your Guide to Florida Child Abuse Claims.
