Does Trauma Make Us Age Faster?

"I've always felt older than my peers," Jen said, her legs tucked under her on my couch. "I don't know why. I just remember this rush to grow up- to leave the house, have kids, have a family... to somehow prove to myself that this was possible I guess?"

"I remember early on this loss of my innocence," she continued, "but I didn't realize it until now."

She looked down. "I couldn't wait to prove to myself that I was worthy of love."

Jen left home at 18, as soon as she was able. She quickly got married, and her daughter was born not long after that. Two decades later, she has three failed marriages, and three kids who don't talk to her much.

"I was in a rush to grow up, but I ended up making the same mistakes."

Source: Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Many survivors of childhood trauma have to grow up early

Jen's story is common. Many survivors of childhood abuse and trauma, like Jen, seek the fastest route to adulthood because they see it as a way out of their traumatic family. But this is not just something that is done on the conscious level of trying to escape a difficult environment: it is actually rooted in a biological drive to survive and preserve their sense of safety.^1,2

We know that childhood trauma is associated with a higher risk of physical and mental health issues later in life, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and relationship difficulties^1,2. But it also can cause accelerated aging.

This drive to grow up early may have an evolutionary or biological drive

Life History Strategy, a theory rooted in evolutionary biology, helps us understand why survivors of traumatic and unpredictable environments may develop faster both physically and psychologically. It suggests that survivors who experience early adversity or trauma may develop a survival-oriented mindset, leading to faster physical, emotional, and psychological development. Experiences of childhood trauma, particularly in chaotic or neglectful environments, can trigger a "faster" life strategy, where the individual focuses on immediate survival and coping rather than long-term goals and stability². So this is why those like Jen find the fastest way out: for example, marriage or otherwise leaving home.

But this drive to survive has an impact on survivors, for more than just emotional and psychological reasons. Research shows that experiences of childhood trauma, and the ways that the body and mind have to adapt to cope, can actually increase biological aging in survivors¹. Here are some of the ways this can happen:

1. Heightened alertness promotes survival. Children exposed to a dangerous or unpredictable home do not have a safe space to develop naturally. Instead, they are focused on surviving the chaos in their immediate environment. In response, their bodies and minds can shift into a heightened state of alertness, which, while helping them navigate and survive a stressful environment, ultimately damages their development.
2. Accelerated maturation happens to help respond to stress and threats: In a threatening and dangerous environment, survivors need to develop faster in order to survive. As a result, children in traumatic environments may mature more quickly than their peers out of necessity, as their safety is dependent on their ability to respond to stress or threats⁴. Many of my clients report a sense of an early "loss of innocence" as Jen reported above, among other things that likely signify early maturation.
3. Survivors being forced to take care of themselves: When we grow up in environments where adults are not safe and cannot be relied on to take care of us, we are forced to find ways to take care of ourselves, even if these ways are self-destructive or unsafe. For example, some survivors learn to behave in verbally aggressive or even physically violent ways as a way to protect themselves and to show others that they won't be easily taken advantage of.
4. Reduced focus on long-term goals in order to focus on survival: Due to the emphasis on immediate survival and coping, survivors may struggle to "see the end goal." As a result, a focus on long-term goals, such as education, stable relationships, or building a career may take a backseat to things like relationships and sexual behaviors, or other ways to self-medicate to cope with the stress of their environment. This is because development may be more centered around navigating and escaping hardship, and finding ways to cope or escape. For survivors like Jen, this "way out" ended up being marriage to a dysfunctional and abusive husband. Eight years her senior, he seemed like her ticket out, only to find out that she had repeated the cycle she was trying to get away from.

All of this has an impact on health

When we are forced to prioritize safety, our bodies shift into survival mode, which helps us survive a short-term stressor. However, when the stressor is not short term, but instead never-ending, this puts the body in a constant state of survival. The constant tension and hypervigilance trigger a continuous release of stress hormones like cortisol, which was never meant to be sustained long term by the body. This ongoing stress can weaken the immune system, disrupt sleep, and contribute to long-term health problems, such as cardiovascular and digestive issues³.

If you are looking for support to explore and cope with the effects of trauma, therapy can help. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.