17 Upsetting Things You’ll Only Understand If You Had A Rough Childhood

If your rough childhood is still causing issues for you, you’re not alone. Here are some real people explaining how their trauma from when they were younger still impacts them today:

“I can’t have music up loud (like above normal speaking volume) and if I have headphones in they’re really low volume or I’m only wearing one earbud, just in case there’s someone trying to get my attention – I’m terrified of being called for and not hearing it. “ — HellsBellsGazelles

“If I’m relaxing, and someone walks into the room, I will immediately act like I was in the middle of doing something or about to start doing something. I have to be busy in the presence of other people.” — weareone720

“I realized recently that a lot of the cruel things that were said to me have embedded themselves into my regular vocabulary under the guise of ‘self-deprecating humor.’” — elanoui

“I move very quietly. To the point that people joke that I can teleport because I’m next to them before they realize I’m there. I scare the people I live with just about every day because they don’t hear me enter a room. That’s a skill you learn when you grow up not wanting to be seen or heard.” — Maddax_McCloud

“Language is full of tripwires for me. I cannot tolerate vagueness, because it has been used against me so much.” — Responsible-Movie966

“I’m extremely flinchy, like I get startled super easily. People try to jump out and scare me, and they laugh when I jump back. I wish they knew, as it hurts sometimes knowing why it always gets me.” — Funkeysismychildhood

“I keep saying sorry to every little inconveniences or anytime I feel like I’m bothering someone.” — APhonkyMexican

“I used to loathe physical touch. After much contemplation, I realized I didn’t trust anyone enough to make myself vulnerable, even for a hug.” — TheresAGhost0

“Something I do that I recently learned other people don’t do is constantly pay attention to my surroundings. I listen for footsteps, doors opening and closing, people’s voices, water running in the pipes, cars pulling into the driveway, on and on. As a kid I needed to know who was in my house and what they were doing” — PigWithAWoodenLeg

“Being hyperaware of anyone experiencing negative emotions in the room. Feeling someone else’s anger or depression very severely and feeling as though I have to be the one to calm things down and keep the peace.” — totoropengyou

“You develop a physical need to help others. You want nothing more than to make others happy to avoid or overcome ever feeling as you do. No matter what it costs you. And you hope that you can make up for whatever it is you did to deserve it all.” — jack40714

“Getting overly attached to people way to quickly, which usually pushes them away and just destroys me over and over again.” — LateNightCityLights

“Not sure if this is just really weird, but at work whenever I ask for a day off, every job I’ve had, I had given a detailed description of why and the purpose of needing it off. Finally, at my current job l, my direct supervisor would keep telling me: ‘I don’t need to know why.’ I did some reflection and realized that, in my youth, if I didn’t explain things as far as being absent, feeling sick, needing to go to the doctor; if I didn’t have a good enough explanation, I was completely disregarded. It got engrained in me to find the best possible reasoning behind nearly every choice I ever made.” — hollowtheories

“Asking for permission to do literally anything, double-checking that I was doing the right thing, and always second-guessing myself. Like to an abnormal level.” — Narrow_Turnip_3102

“I realized I’m toxically independent. I have an extremely hard time asking for help because I never had it.” — excusemeprincess

“Violent outbursts to high stress situations, inability to talk about past negative experiences without re-living those memories and having an emotional reaction.” — Anti-TankRanga

“Zone out. It took me years to realize that it was disassociation and not just me being ‘a space cadet.’ I was zoning out when upset or having flashbacks.” — AngelicWhimsy