25 Best Childhood Trauma Quotes

Childhood trauma can leave you feeling demoralized and damaged. It can make you believe that you are irreparable. But remember that you can always fight the negative forces in your life and restore the peace you once had. If trauma can happen, healing can happen. With that said, here are 25 childhood trauma quotes that can reignite the fire that was taken away from you.

25 Best Quotes on Childhood Trauma

Quote 1: “Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.” – Herbert Ward

Quote 2: “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” – Dave Pelzer, A Child Called “It”

Quote 3: “Abuse is never deserved, it is an exploitation of innocence and physical disadvantage, which is perceived as an opportunity by the abuser.” – Lorraine Nilon, Breaking Free From the Chains of Silence

Quote 4: “The past can tick away inside us for decades like a silent time bomb, until it sets off a cellular message that lets us know the body does not forget the past.” – Donna Jackson Nakazawa, Childhood Disrupted

Quote 5: “Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies. The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become experts at ignoring their gut feelings and numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.” – Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score

Quote 6: “Even if you’ve accumulated a house full of nice things and the picture of your life fits inside a beautiful frame, if you have experienced trauma but haven’t excavated it, the wounded parts of you will affect everything you’ve managed to build.” – Oprah Winfrey, What Happened to You?

Quote 7: “An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.” – Alice Miller, Thou Shalt Not Be Aware

Quote 8: “People are afraid to heal because their entire identity is centered around the trauma they’ve experienced. They have no idea who they are outside of trauma and that unknown is terrifying.” – Ebonee Davis

Quote 9: “We are often loyal to our suffering, our regrets, our losses, focusing on the trauma of ‘what happened to me…’ But is that what defines you?” – Jack Kornfield

Quote 10: “Survivors of abuse show us the strength of their personal spirit every time they smile.” – Jeanne McElvaney, Healing Insights

Quote 11: “Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard only by the one held captive. When someone enters the pain and hears the screams, healing can begin.” – Danielle Bernock, Emerging With Wings

Quote 12: “People think healing looks like having huge visible breakthroughs when really, it’s just a series of small decisions that reprogram your subconscious mind. One healthy activity at a time is a great starting point.” – Unknown

Quote 13: “The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.” – Peter Levine

Quote 14: “Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.” – Michelle Rosenthall

Quote 15: “Healing happens when you’re triggered and you’re able to move through the pain, the pattern, the story and walk your way to a different ending.” – Vienna Pharaon

Quote 16: “Wounds won’t heal the way you want them to. They heal the way they need to.” – Dele Olanubi

Quote 17: “Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” – Akshay Dubey

Quote 18: “There is no one way to recover and heal from any trauma. Each survivor chooses their path or stumbles across it.” – Laurie Matthew

Quote 19: “There is no timestamp on trauma. There isn’t a formula that you can insert yourself into to get from horror to healed. Be patient. Take up space. Let your journey be the balm.” – Dawn Serra

Quote 20: “Sometimes, the hardest part of the journey is simply believing you’re worthy of the trip.” – Unknown

Quote 21: “Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” – Oliver Wilkins

Quote 22: “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” – Carl Gustav Jung

Quote 23: “Healing from trauma can also mean strength and joy. The goal of healing is not a papering-over of changes in an effort to preserve or present things as normal. It is to acknowledge and wear your new life—warts, wisdom, and all—with courage.” – Catherine Woodiwiss

Quote 24: “The deeper you heal, the higher you raise the bar on who has access to you.” – Unknown

Quote 25: “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” – Brene Brown

Overall, these quotes about childhood trauma do not just depict the disturbing and shadowy side of these experiences. They also shed light on how the healing process can unfold and how you have the potential to transcend your traumatic experiences. Hopefully, then, these positive quotes about childhood trauma can motivate you to take baby steps toward recovery. One way you can begin your healing journey is to seek treatment from a mental health professional or use our trauma worksheets designed to aid individuals on the road to recovery, among others.

And on a final note, keep in mind that while childhood trauma is a problem, you are not the problem. Remembering this can go a long way in separating yourself from your past traumatic experiences and regaining control over your life.