Logged in just to say, for me reaching into my past has been one of the most transformative and healing acts I've ever done.
In my opinion, you gain nothing from looking at trauma or trying to see some psychological way to get out of it. The only cure is to forget about it.
Now we may have behaviors that were shaped by our trauma, but remembering our trauma, what does that do but reinforce the memory again and there force reinforce our trauma response?
All that has to be done is focus on your present date and your present reaction examine if that’s dysfunctional or not.
Because trauma affixes neutal pathways. You don't have to remember it to be affected, at all.
Does a car mechanic need a video of the crash to fix the car?
Past trauma can often be the root.
Failing to recognize it and reprogram that part of your brain leads to patching over symptoms, which... causes other issues.
Where this breaks down for some people -- not everyone has trauma, or at least severe enough trauma to need to deal with it.
Some people act like assholes because they were hurt when they were young. Others act like assholes because that's just how they decided to act.
If you want to fix the code, you need to go to the right line.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6428430/
https://aifs.gov.au/resources/practice-guides/effect-trauma-...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3968319/
Adding to this, trauma extends to multiple generations:
"Intergenerational influences of paternal combat-related trauma on offspring behavioral and brain function"
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235228952...
"Exposure of Men to PTSD-Promoting Trauma Elevates Levels of Sperm miRNAs with Anxiety and Depression-Inducing Activities"
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.22.720211v1...
But if those are destructive memories, that you want to return to and that are at the base of your misery, then no - that is absolutely worst thing to return to, as there is nothing you can change there and the things that are affecting you are coming from that already. So, pretty much this is the reason why it is important for kids to have stable normal life.