Your Most Traumatic Childhood Memory

[the captain]

What?s your worst memory from your childhood. I have loads of terrible memories from that time between my parents divorce and the deaths of a few grandparents. But if I had to pick one terrible memory that I think scarred me the worst, it would have to be the death of Optimus Prime.

The first time I saw the Transformers Movie, I had no clue what I was walking into and after about 30 wonderful minutes of that film, Optimus died and I could feel my childhood dieing with him. Gone were those happy days of carefree innocence. At that moment, I saw my hero die right before my eyes and I lost something that I could never get back.

 

[chuckman1]

Sigh parents having sex.

 

[DoomDispenser]

Let's see here... (searches through files of traumatic memories)

Ah, here we go. I'd have to go with when I was just a wee lad minding my own business skipping youthfully in our town's local park and a goose bit me square in the crotch. I now kick any goose I see, due to my superior size.

... I hate geese.

 

[Citrus]

My mom was avid about keeping me truthful, telling me never to lie to her about anything and assuring me that she would never lie to me.

So I guess one of the more traumatic memories would be finding out that she actually lied to me very often. Anytime she wanted me to do something or wanted to change my opinion on something, she would lie.

For an eight-year-old, I felt very betrayed.

 

[Ridergurl10]

Well mine is kind of lame, but it still sticks with me today:
When I was two or three my parents took me to the zoo and I got to pet a sheep. While this sheep baaed right in my face and now I jump evertime I hear a baa (no I'm not kidding). Sheep are devils and they make devil noises . . . scary

 

[Jumplion]

The Internet happened...

must I continue with this?

But on a serious note, I won't give you entire details since it's personal, but I will say it was a death in the family. Any death is traumatic, so I'm sure anyone who's lost someone dear to them will understand.

But that's depressing, one time I drove my bicycle into a lake and had to get naked in public (thankfully we had a picnic towel XD).

 

[Ignignoct]

Probably the physical and emotional abuse:

- Throwing me by my hair into furniture and kicking me when I tried to get up.

- Telling me I a was a worthless fool and threatening to disown me for not believing in God.

- Being told what to say when cops visited my home along with child protective services. Cleaning up extra-tidy right before the inspections.

But now I'm the classiest of the white trash in my family, and completely independent.

WHO'S LAUGHING NAO!? HAHA!

Edit: Oh, and my brother's attempts at suicide, because he was my only real family growing up.

Edit 2: Probably the suicide attempts was the most traumatic, to answer the OP directly. It still affects my behavior to this day.

 

[Walrus42]

Sigh parents having sex.

this, and.. I know its really stupid, but in 5th or 6th grade (can't remember) we had to write stories and read them to the class. I put one of my classmates names into my story, because I didn't know some of the people in my class. She laughed through the whole thing. The weirdest thing about this is that it still bothers me today... and it was just a stupid thing I did a long time ago.

 

[Abedeus]

Seeing a spider big as my hand on the wall in our living room.

That's the beginning of my arachnophobia.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Probably my father when I was younger, thankfully I had my mother to the point where I am not afraid of him.

 

[itsnotyouitsme]

my sister shat in the bathtub and my parents didn't notice it before they filled in with water and tossed me head first in...

 

[Tattaglia]

I got a massive nail through my finger - about 3 centimetres of iron sticking out of my index. Quite scarring, I must say.

Probably the physical and emotional abuse:

- Throwing me by my hair into furniture and kicking me when I tried to get up.

- Telling me I a was a worthless fool and threatening to disown me for not believing in God.

- Being told what to say when cops visited my home along with child protective services. Cleaning up extra-tidy right before the inspections.

But now I'm the classiest of the white trash in my family, and completely independent.

WHO'S LAUGHING NAO!? HAHA!

Edit: Oh, and my brother's attempts at suicide, because he was my only real family growing up.

That's rough, man. At least you came out on top.

 

[Ignignoct]

I don't have any memories before age nine.
Which basically means the only childhood memories I have start with my dads' funeral.
But it wasn't really that traumatic, I don't think. I didn't cry or anything.

Wow, definitely sounds like it was traumatic to me if that defines your childhood to the point that it's the baseline for your memories. Crying or not, it could still have a huge impact.

Sorry to hear. m(_ _)m

Probably my father when I was younger, thankfully I had my mother to the point where I am not afraid of him.

What do you mean?

Why was he traumatic?

 

[Rocksa]

Walking the couple of blocks from school to where my mom was working at the time. It was a small town so things were supposed to be safe. I was about 9 or 10 at the time and kids walked home like this all the time. I suddenly find myself walking alone when a guy in a black car pulls up and starts asking for directions, I tell him, he says he can't find it on his own and asks for my help, says it'll just take a minute and he'll even pay me, says how helpful and thankful he'll be. I, at the time, believe in helping other people and say I'll gladly help him, tossing every freakin' lesson learned from afterschool programs straight out the window. Last thing I remember is getting in the car and him sticking a rag over my face. Next I can remember I woke up in the woods, bruised and bloody. They never found the guy, and I'm still not entirely sure if I was just lucky enough to be unconcious for whatever happened or if I've suppressed the hell out of that memory, either way there's just a blank spot.

Shattered my happy little childhood, took away my innocence, and made me afriad wherer I'd never felt fear before, I'd say it's pretty flippin' traumatic.

 

[ChickDangerous]

Probably the time in year 6 when I mouthed off to some popular jerk that he was an idiot (or something like that anyway, I was very much convinced of my own superiority and not shy about telling people how crap I thought they were). He didn't take it so well and smashed my head into a wall. Then he kicked me afterward because I said real men don't beat up on girls.

 

[Pseudonym2]

Probably the airplane crash or learning the, for a lack of a better phrase, anti-life equation.

The other times would be when a bunch of people teemed up on me a tried to beat me up with varying levels of success.

 

[Gitsnik]

Well the ones I have include watching someone get cut to shreds by a windshield exploding inwards, looking at various bullet wounds and broken bones poking out (growing up on and around military bases seems to preclude this sort of memory), and a birthing room issue with some doors that I should never have seen.

Probably the funniest and/or sweetest/cutest happened yesterday, and not to me. I was in a local clothing/electronics store when the 1700 closing time rolls around and the voice comes over the speaker "We are closing" etc.

I walk to the counter, and on my way pass this poor little 7 or 8 year old girl, massively scared and crying. Turns out this kid was so traumatised because she thought she was going to get shut into the store. "I was so scared mummy!"

Made me chuckle.

 

[Ignignoct]

Walking the couple of blocks from school to where my mom was working at the time. It was a small town so things were supposed to be safe. I was about 9 or 10 at the time and kids walked home like this all the time. I suddenly find myself walking alone when a guy in a black car pulls up and starts asking for directions, I tell him, he says he can't find it on his own and asks for my help, says it'll just take a minute and he'll even pay me, says how helpful and thankful he'll be. I, at the time, believe in helping other people and say I'll gladly help him, tossing every freakin' lesson learned from afterschool programs straight out the window. Last thing I remember is getting in the car and him sticking a rag over my face. Next I can remember I woke up in the woods, bruised and bloody. They never found the guy, and I'm still not entirely sure if I was just lucky enough to be unconcious for whatever happened or if I've suppressed the hell out of that memory, either way there's just a blank spot.

Shattered my happy little childhood, took away my innocence, and made me afriad wherer I'd never felt fear before, I'd say it's pretty flippin' traumatic.

I want to say you win the thread, but that seems ban-ably inappropriate =p.

Glad you're strong and capable enough to share it.

 

[Sindaine]

Being locked out of the house when I was eight. It was only for an hour, but it was cold and raining and I honestly thought my mother no longer wanted me.