You May Relate to Cassadee Pope If You're Afraid of Abandonment Due to Childhood Trauma
The Story: Country singer Cassadee Pope is opening up about working through her mental health and childhood trauma. Pope recently released a new record titled “Rise and Shine” aimed at helping others cope with global hardship amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She shared with People Magazine that she hopes the record will help bring mental health to the forefront and offer a much-needed message of hope. The star said she struggled with her parent’s divorce at 11 and watching her father leave, leading to fear of abandonment.
Seeing my dad leave and move on to a new family really quickly was hard. I think I brought that into my life now where I have this overbearing sense of: I need to be interesting enough and good enough and funny enough and entertaining enough for people to stick around. When someone leaves, especially someone that influential to you and that important in your life, you take that with you through everything. — Cassadee Pope, People Magazine
It’s working through that trauma Pope said taught her lessons about finding the light in the tough times and taking it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself. Pope said it’s taken a lot of work and realizing that trauma stays with you — and that naming your experiences can help you heal.
The Frontlines: Childhood trauma can forever change the way you go through life and sometimes even the very chemistry of your body. Research shows it’s an experience that is all too common.
- More than two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event before the age of 16
- One study showed a connection between exposure to traumatic events and an increased risk of chronic illness.
- A recent study found that some types of hardships during childhood can lead to premature aging.
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A Mighty Voice: Our contributor, Abbi Hirschfeld, shared the impacts trauma had on her body as a child saying, “The stress from trauma presented in many different ways over the years. When I was 4, I started getting sick to my stomach all the time. I experienced panic attacks, I self-harmed throughout my childhood without really knowing what I was doing, or why. I stopped eating when I was 11, and I spent my entire adolescence in and out of treatment centers, hospitals and institutions.” You can submit your first person story, too.
From Our Community:
Other things to know: Despite the all-too common experience of childhood trauma, Mighty contributors are finding ways to heal. These are their stories:
- Why Changing My Name Helped Me Heal From Childhood Trauma
- 12 Mantras for Anyone Healing From Childhood Trauma
- The 2 Words That Help Me Heal From Childhood Trauma
How to take action: You can listen to Pope’s new record on YouTube and get information on how you can buy it here.
Header image via Cassadee Pope/Instagram
Silvia Pittman is a wife and new mom who is obsessed with all things digital. When she's not chasing after her toddler, she's writing and taking in the Gulf of Mexico views at the beach. She is a first generation immigrant committed to spreading awareness for issues that impact the Latinx community. She is always eager to tell new stories and believes in the unparalleled value of access to information.
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