...repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality. The child trapped in an abusive environment is faced with formidable tasks of adaptation. She must find a way to preserve a sense of trust in people who are untrustworthy, safety in a situation that is unsafe, control in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable, power in a situation of helplessness. Unable to care for or protect herself, she must compensate for the failures of adult care and protection with the only means at her disposal, an immature system of psychological defenses.
out-of-control trust betrayal personality child-abuse coping trauma defense-mechanism personality-disorders abuse-survivors post-traumatic-stress-disorder ptsd posttraumatic-stress-disorder unsafe powerlessness overwhelmed traumatic-experiences overwhelming abused-child traumatized untrustworthy complex-ptsd terrifying abusive-parents parental-abuse betrayal-trauma helpelessness psychological-defence