The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Physical Health

Some survivors go years—sometimes decades—waking up with pain they can’t explain. Not pain from an old injury or illness, but something deeper. A kind of quiet alarm their body keeps sounding, long after the danger has passed. Most never suspect it’s tied to the abuse they endured as kids. But the connection is real. And it runs far beneath the surface.

Most people think childhood sexual abuse leaves invisible scars. But for many survivors, the scars show up in bloodwork, in persistent aches, in a racing heart that never quite settles down. The truth is, trauma isn’t just something you “get over.” It sets up shop in your nervous system. It changes how your body responds to the world—quietly, slowly, and sometimes catastrophically.

And if no one ever connected the dots between your physical symptoms and what happened to you? That’s not your fault. Most doctors aren’t trained to ask those questions. But let’s talk about it—plainly. Because if you’ve ever wondered whether childhood abuse could explain why your body feels like it’s falling apart, you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy.

Can Childhood Sexual Abuse Cause Physical Health Issues?

Absolutely. And the science backs it up.

When a child is sexually abused, their brain and body go into survival mode. That’s not just a poetic metaphor—it’s a biological fact. The nervous system gets stuck in a loop: fight, flight, or freeze. Cortisol floods the body. The immune system gets thrown out of whack. And that overdrive doesn’t just go away once the abuse stops.

The ACE study—one of the largest and most important health studies ever conducted—found that the more childhood trauma a person experiences, the greater their risk for serious adult health problems. And I’m not talking about just depression or anxiety (though those are real, too). I’m talking about strokes. Autoimmune diseases. Cancer. Chronic pain conditions that leave people bedridden for days.

It’s not psychological. It’s physiological.

The Body Remembers: Chronic Pain and Somatic Trauma

If you’ve ever had pain that doctors couldn’t explain—pelvic pain, migraines, gastrointestinal issues—you might be living with somatic trauma. That’s when the body stores emotional wounds physically. It doesn’t mean the pain is “all in your head.” It means your nervous system is still trying to protect you, even if the danger is long gone.

I once knew someone who couldn’t ride in cars without severe abdominal pain. Dozens of doctors, endless tests. No answers. Until one trauma-informed therapist gently asked, “Did anything happen to you in a car when you were little?” The dam broke. That’s when the healing started.

Fibromyalgia. IBS. Chronic fatigue. These aren’t random. They’re common among survivors. Your body isn’t betraying you. It’s sounding the alarm it was never allowed to ring.

Want to know more about how trauma affects the mind, too? We break that down here.

Autoimmune Disorders: When the Body Turns on Itself

Here’s something that still stuns people: there’s a growing body of evidence linking childhood sexual abuse to autoimmune diseases. Lupus. Multiple sclerosis. Rheumatoid arthritis. Why? Because long-term stress changes the way your immune system behaves. It can make your body so hypersensitive that it starts attacking healthy cells.

Think of it like a smoke detector stuck in overdrive—it’s always going off, even when there’s no fire. Over time, that kind of false alarm wears down your body.

A survivor’s immune system is often caught between two extremes: either it’s too weak to fight infections, or it’s so ramped up it starts causing inflammation everywhere. That’s not random. That’s trauma biology.

Heart Disease, Diabetes, and the Weight of Survival

Let’s talk about the heart—literally.

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. Why? Chronic stress raises blood pressure. It messes with blood sugar. It affects sleep, appetite, and hormones. Over years—sometimes decades—that kind of wear and tear adds up.

Imagine driving a car with your foot lightly on the gas and the brake at the same time. That’s what trauma does to the body. The engine gets hot. The brakes wear out. Eventually, something breaks.

And when survivors show up at the doctor’s office with high blood pressure or blood sugar issues, few providers ask about their childhoods. They treat the symptom, not the root.

What Are the Long-Term Health Effects of Abuse?

Let me spell it out plainly. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse often face:

• Chronic pain

• Autoimmune disorders

• Digestive problems

• Cardiovascular disease

• Sleep disturbances

• Endocrine issues (like thyroid dysfunction)

• Higher risk of cancer

These are not isolated issues. They’re part of a bigger picture. The kind that starts in trauma and echoes throughout the body.

And if you’ve been dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told it’s “just stress,” I want you to know that your body is telling the truth—even when others wouldn’t listen.

Why Medical Help Needs to Be Trauma-Informed

Here’s where things often go wrong.

A survivor walks into a clinic with mysterious pain. Or fatigue that won’t lift. Or constant infections. Doctors run tests, scratch their heads, and sometimes suggest it’s anxiety. They’re not wrong—but they’re only seeing a piece of the puzzle.

What survivors need is a medical team that knows trauma doesn’t disappear when the abuse ends. They need someone who understands that the body keeps score, as Bessel van der Kolk put it.

This kind of care exists—but it takes time to find. And when it comes to survivors of abuse in residential treatment centers, juvenile facilities, religious institutions like churches, or so-called “therapeutic” programs, that journey can be even harder. We’ve seen it firsthand. Read about our work in that area here.

Does Childhood Trauma Affect the Body?

Yes—on every level.

Trauma affects the nervous system. The endocrine system. The immune system. The cardiovascular system. The digestive system. There’s no part of the body it spares.

And yet, so many survivors walk through life believing they’re just weak. Or unlucky. Or broken. You’re not any of those things. You’re someone who lived through something that changed you—and your body responded the only way it knew how.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about truth. And it’s about finally connecting the dots.

What Can You Do If You’re Living With the Medical Consequences of Abuse?

First, know that you’re not alone. Not even close. There are thousands of survivors in Arkansas—many silenced, many still living with the long shadow of what happened to them as kids. We’ve written about that here.

Second, you deserve care. The right kind. The kind that sees you fully and doesn’t dismiss what your body has been trying to say for years.

And third—if the abuse happened in a place that was supposed to protect you, you might have legal options. Sometimes, healing means standing up and saying, “This mattered. This hurt me. And someone should be held responsible.”

Ready to Speak With Someone Who Understands?

At Gillispie Law Firm, we know the damage doesn’t end when the abuse stops. We help survivors pursue justice—not just for what happened back then, but for what they’re still living with now.

If you’re suffering from the long-term health problems caused by childhood sexual abuse, we can help you explore your options. Whether the abuse happened decades ago or more recently, if it led to ongoing medical issues, there may still be a path forward.

Our conversations are confidential. There’s no pressure, no judgment, and no cost to find out if we can help. This might just be the next chapter in your story—the one where you take your power back.

Learn how some survivors have already begun reclaiming their voice.