Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults

In this powerful episode, Toyin Okunuga, CEO of Hush to Roar, explores the signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults. Learn how unresolved childhood experiences can resurface later in life and impact your emotions, relationships, and sense of identity.

From understanding the brain’s defense mechanisms to why certain memories resurface "out of nowhere," this video helps you recognize the hidden wounds of your inner child and begin the healing journey.#ChildhoodTrauma #RepressedMemories #InnerChildHealing #TraumaAwareness #MentalHealth #EmotionalHealing

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⏱ CHAPTERS for Signs of Repressed Childhood Trauma in Adults
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0:00 - Introduction: What Is Repressed Childhood Trauma?
Toyin Okunuga defines repressed trauma and explains how childhood memories are suppressed due to the brain’s inability to process trauma.

1:14 - Why Repressed Memories Resurface in Adulthood
Exploration of how unresolved childhood experiences come back when adults are mentally equipped to handle them.

2:20 - The Controversy Around Repressed Memories
Discussion of the debate: Are these recalled memories real or constructed?

3:30 - What Repressed Trauma Can Look Like
Frustration, dissociation, and emotional shutdown are introduced as key signs of repressed trauma.

4:40 - The Brain’s Natural Coping Mechanism
Explanation of how the limbic system helps "park" trauma to protect mental stability in children.

6:00 - When Flashbacks Start Appearing
How adult brains begin recalling early traumatic events—even from as young as age 2—in the form of vague, distressing images or sensations.

7:10 - The Urgency to Seek Help Without Shame
Toyin encourages seeking professional support and dismantling the stigma surrounding trauma and therapy.

8:25 - Personal Story: Healing and Advocacy
She shares her journey of healing and explains her mission to help others break cycles of abuse and silence.

9:35 - The Need to Normalize the Conversation
Advocates for bringing trauma to light—not to accept it, but to openly address and heal from it.

10:45 - Scientific Backing for Repressed Memories
Toyin cites expert research to reinforce the reality of repressed memories and the importance of healing.

Follow A True story of Love, Childhood Trauma and Recovery!
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👩✒️ᝰ.Toyin Okunuga is an Inspirational Speaker, a coach for women who have undergone Childhood Sexual abuse in their families or communities.
Toyin has a degree in Business Management, prolific in her corporate duties as a Business Analyst Consultant, and now owning her own business which is at the heart of her being.

#CoachforWomen #childhoodTraumas
#ToyinOkunuga

[hushtoroar]

📍2:20 - The Controversy Around Repressed Memories
Are these recalled memories real or constructed?
#RepressedMemories

[exploringlifewithme]

I am a survivor childhood sexual abuse & physical abuse. I am almost 40 years old and I have never dealt with my childhood. Every few years something will come up & I seek out healing, only to be looked at and spoke to as if I am trying to be a victim or looking for attention. I have only recently realized that my healing is not contingent on others thoughts, opinions, or words to me. I once told my mother that I felt like I needed to go back to the young girl that I used to be and rescue her, help her. My mom just told me you need help, you are so sick. That broke my heart. I have only recently embarked on this journey to heal the deepest wound in my soul. it was just a gut punch to come to the realization that so many people I know prefer me hurt over healed. Thank you for your video.

[xoxobutterfly]

I'm 30 now and my mental health is suffering :(
I remember playing with my dolls very inappropriately. My mom said my cousin would lock the door with me and my sister in the room he was a few years older then me..I don't remember being abused but I feel like something did happen to me...I just want to know the truth but I feel my parents are always upset when my sister and I bring it up

[codacreator]

For me, the word “memory” is missing the reality. The flashbacks I have are emotional, physical, but not memories in the accepted sense. I don’t see mind movies of my trauma, I don’t see pictures flashed before my mind’s eye. Something — rarely identifiable in the moment — triggers a response that has been hard-wired into my brain: adrenaline dumps into my bloodstream, my vision is affected, my hearing, loss of fine motor skills, and my verbal, spacial, and intellectual acuity is scrambled. Everything around me crushes in on me at once. Nothing is distinguishable from anything else. It’s like standing in a downpour and trying to identify individual raindrops, the arranging them into some kind of order to describe them for others.

Again, memory is an inaccurate term because while my past is absolutely responsible for the impact of its aftermath, it doesn’t “live” in my present. I feel overwhelming shame in the moment and attribute it immediately to something in my present circumstance. It does not flare up as a return to the traumatic moments. Recalling them, for me, must be intentional if the goal is to discuss them. Otherwise, recall gets shelved with memory as an inappropriate means of description. I have emotional flashbacks triggered by sensory stimuli in the present. These stimuli are widely varied and damned near impossible to identify. Oh, there are the go-to memory triggers: songs, scents (perfume and the like), social situations, and the like. These are sort of known and easy to avoid (even if I’m not certain why they might give me an uneasy feeling strong enough to warn me off of them). But there are myriad other stimuli which are unknown, hidden everywhere, and which usually assail when stress is high — a micromanaging boss, an angry client, financial strain, instability, loss, and frustration or fear. All of these and more conspire to lock me up. Then, I can’t do anything. For hours. When it’s over, I’m exhausted and have to sleep. I mean the kind of exhaustion that comes after a terrifying fight for your life, the slow return from a chemical stress response. The kind of exhaustion that is impossible for me to ignore. I will sleep anywhere, under any circumstances. Once, I fell asleep at a New Years’ Eve party in the midst of a group of people. We were gathered around a fire pit in the late evening, chatting. I took a blanket, laid down on one of the stone benches ringing the pit, and instantly fell asleep. My host was pissed. My wife was pissed. Nobody believed me when I said I had no choice. But it’s true. It’s pointless to fight it. My brain turns to oatmeal, anyway and I stop talking. It’s been happening like this for me since I was a young man. For all these years, I’ve been staving off the sleep demon with massive amounts of caffeine and nicotine. And for a decent chunk, I was using barbiturates including cocaine. None of anything works for long, though cocaine was great it was obviously a very short, one-way road. The consequences of trying too hard to self-medicate were apparent to me and I quit. By myself. And never looked back. That was nearly 30 years ago. I don’t worry about relapsing at all because I already know it doesn’t work. It’s sort of like A Nightmare on Elm Street: if I fall asleep, I’m in danger — except in reverse, too. If I DON’T sleep, I’m in even more danger.

[uduakakpabio]

Training our brain to know we are in control is key

[berry_colorz]

My father had some kind of mental health issue. He is no more. Although he was a good person at heart it was really hard for him to lead a normal life. It was really chaotic for me and my siblings to live there with him. All I can remember is his non stop talking, sleepless nights, fights with mom. I feel like my siblings and I shouldn't have born in this world. I don't know how many more years I have to live with all the trauma. Hope I find a way to recover from all the pain and trauma, and live a peaceful life.

[Catturtlelover]

Yup! This is legitimate. EMDR is helping me tremendously. Meditation helps with accessing repressed memories too. I specifically remember blocking out and trying to “make myself forget” horrible things at different points of my childhood. All because of shame and as a survival mechanism. I am nearly 30 and finally am giving myself the opportunity to heal ❤🙏

[catthia]

"Reveal to heal!" I am so with you in this journey! You are not alone and neither am I! Thank you, keep going!

[surgicalninja]

Thank you so much for this video! I assumed I was unaffected by my traumas, and then BOOM, I’m 41 and having nightmares about things I remembered differently before. This helps me identify what I need to do moving forward.

[debbiestewart]

How can I heal ? I’m 60, I in therapy, my mom just died and I have childhood emotional neglect .
I have a memory then I cry !

[rachelsimbhu]

💯 correct, I am there, still figuring out what to do with my life

[FTiMA.]

Thank you so much beautiful(!) 💛💛💛💛💛🦋💛💛💛💛💛🙏🏿

[Eric-]

I mostly expirence intermittent flashes of parts of a few memories, and I notice that I immediately and uncontrollably block the rest of the particular memory. Some memories are almost intact. I remember specific details leading into a horrific glimpses of the memory and again I seem to uncontrollably, automatically block the ending of the encounter. I remember enough to see faces and people and remember certain details and things that were said up until things began to get disgusting then instantly I only see fleeting glimpses of fighting and screaming and being held down then more millisecond long flashes of hitting and choking and pushing then gone.. the fleeting memories are often a bit blurry but I feel panic at those moments when fighting them.. then nothing… it’s gone and I’m catching myself noticing my current physical surroundings. Each time it may be one of four maybe five or more different encounters. There are several I remember with similar restraining and punching my stomach and choking scenarios. They flash then gone. These memories seem to repeat most often when I’m extremely anxious or stressed about something going on in my life that’s totally unrelated to physical abuse. Lately it’s been causing me to go into profuse sweating or the feeling like I may loose control of a bowel movement… I’ve noticed that over the years I’ve learned to just stop and say to myself.. “I’m here and I’m cool… I’m fine, and all the sweating and the feeling like I’m about to loose control of my bowels instantly goes away… and I’m good for a couple weeks until the next episode. This has been going on for more than 50 years.. more frequent now and I’m now experiencing strong dizziness with the episodes. I suffer from PPPD but some how I feel it’s connected. I want to have a normal life but I’m afraid that it’s too late for me.. it’s something I’ve come to think is just me and I don’t tell people about. I’ve learned to hide most of the problems or panicky feelings by forcing control over them. But it’s getting harder to do as I get older. I’ve told a few people but it’s embarrassing and I am treated differently after disclosing these things so I’ve tried doubly hard recently to hide the panic episodes. I don’t want it to get more difficult or to cause public embarrassment if I should lose my control over them.
I absolutely don’t want to know more details of what happened either!
I’m in a quandary… people think I’m odd already mostly because I prefer to be alone so they think I’m a bit of an odd person for not socializing. What can I do? Anyone? Please give me some helpful advice.

[l.i.l.i.r.e.a.d.s.]

Yes I can’t stop talking about it but people Just don’t fully get it I stop sometimes but find myself always coming back to talking about it and sharing information on child SA and trafficking too

[abigailjohnson]

11:19 thank you for your video I wish I could speak out like you

[victoriahunt]

Thank you so much I have been saying the same thing for years to talk about it. Most people just cant hear it. Thats where the problem is because nobody likes to hear it well like you said we talk about murder we need to talk about child sexaul abuse too ppl just need to get over it and hear it so we can stop it. I agree with everything you said.

[polarisedelectrons]

Thank you for this, I needed this video today.

[allanbard]

Repressed childhood trauma+PTSDx2 vs. bipolar 2=pushing a Cadillac up a hill with a rope.

[cjdumbsht]

i hope this isn't too triggering. still, some advice on my situation would be very appreciated
so im a victim of cocsa, ik that for certain and i can confirm those memories. what i can't confirm is other childhood memories that i barely recall. i only remember the emotions and physical sensations, though it's taking a lot of effort to even remember that. I suspect other experiences of CSA in those specific memories, but I need to remember in order to heal- that's what i'm told. I'm speaking with a therapist so I'm in a good situation. I was just wondering if you have any advice with recovering repressed memories? It would be very helpful. i also struggle with differentiating between traumatic experiences from childhood and vivid childhood fears (which likely resulted from something so that's why im trying to figure it out)

[KidusSolomon-pokc]

I know someone with child abuse story who has now grown up and seems to have dealt with it but I'm very heart broken b/c I don't think he got fully over it.
What should I do?and how do I know if he still is having issues with Tue trauma?
I really want to help but I don't know what to do please tell me what to do in order to help him?