I’ve also seen other kids who are angry about what happened. Sometimes, kids are angry after a stressful or traumatic experience
Children who have been through trauma often have difficulties in developing language skills. They have trouble solving problems, paying attention, remembering, responding to social cues and regulating their emotions.
They are on the look out for potential threats. This may make it difficult for children to pay attention at school, go to new places or interact with people they do not know. Their bodies and minds are constantly on high alert. Even after things are safe again, the child’s brain may still be feeling like they are in danger. When something scary happens, it activates a person’s “fight or flight” response. Fight or Flight: A normal response to a scary situation These are all normal and expected responses to trauma for a child. Or they just don’t seem as “rational” as they used to be. Maybe they’re always worried about things now. They may forget things. Perhaps they get upset easier.
In other words, your child may have trouble controlling their feelings. Childhood trauma actually impacts the child’s brain. More specifically, trauma impacts the parts of the brain that control fear responses, emotional regulation, decision making, planning, learning and memory. In fact, there’s a reason your child is acting differently. Trauma has a physical impact on childrenĬhildhood trauma impacts more than just a child’s feelings. However, when symptoms last more than a month and begin to affect the person’s ability to function, the person may be suffering from PTSD. You can read more about PTSD here. But after awhile, things go back to normal. Their play begins to revolve around other interests and their concern about health issues becomes less frequent. Or they repeatedly ask mom if she’s ok or cry more when they separate from mom. They may play “broken leg” or “doctor” with their stuffed animals or friends. Perhaps they’ll jump at the sound of an ambulance siren. Often, these trauma symptoms will decrease or disappear as time goes on.įor instance, a child who saw their mom break a leg and go to the hospital in an ambulance may show some trauma symptoms immediately afterward. The truth is that every child responds differently to a stressful situation. These are a few potential affects of trauma. Trauma Symptoms are normal right after a trauma Adolescents may have difficulties in school, skip school, run away, be involved in violent or abusive dating relationships, think about or commit suicide, do something that could hurt themselves, abuse substances, have sex, withdraw from others, and experience anxiety or depression. School-aged children may have difficulties focusing or learning in school, act out in social situations, imitate the abusive/traumatic event, be verbally abusive, be unable to trust others or make friends, believe they are to blame for the traumatic event, lack self-confidence and experience stomach aches or headaches.
For example, infants and toddlers may have memory problems, scream or cry excessively, have a poor appetite, have low weight or digestive problems, withdraw from others and develop separation anxiety. How a child responds to trauma and what their trauma symptoms look like may vary depending on their age and development level. There are many different ways children react to trauma What support was available during or right after the event How close they were to the event (did your child hear about a car crash versus were they in the car?) There are several factors that affect a person’s response to trauma which include: There are many reasons for this difference. One person can perceive the event as traumatic whereas the other does not. Let’s say two people are in a car accident. In fact, not every adult who experiences trauma develops PTSD. Not every child who goes through a traumatic event ends up with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They react to things differently than they did before the stressful experience. Traumatic events include emotional, sexual, physical abuse or neglect, sexual assault, experiencing or witnessing interpersonal violence, bullying, vehicle accident, community violence, unexpected death of a loved one, experiencing a natural or man-made disaster, and exposure to war or combat violence. Trauma is the response to really upsetting events that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. If you or your child has been through something traumatic, you may feel helpless or have any number of other intense feelings.