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Chronic instability changes one's stress response, making calm feel unfamiliar or threatening.

Adults from chaotic homes may seek out drama, danger, or toxic relationships to feel "normal."

Recognizing self-created chaos is a vital step toward recovery and healing from past trauma.

We assume that adults who experienced traumatic childhood events will be reactive to triggers and cope by avoiding them. Avoidance is, in fact, a key feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet for some adults, trauma was not linked to specific adverse events but to ongoing instability and chaos in the home. When chaos and stress become normal, quiet and calm seem threatening.

Ever since the first Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was published in 1998, researchers have continued to unpack the long-term biological and psychological impact of childhood trauma on development and long-term health.

There are neurodevelopmental, endocrine, and immune system changes that occur in childhood trauma, which lead to chronic oxidative stress, shortening of the telomeres, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the rapid onset of aging. As a result, these biological changes increase the risk of a host of health conditions, including emphysema, stroke, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Add to this list the neurological changes that impact the reward centers........

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