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Traumatic Stress And Children

Below are some common reactions that children and adolescents may display after being exposed to trauma. If your child has been exposed to a traumatic experience or event, seek help from a mental health provider.

Young Children (1-6 years)

• Helplessness and passivity; lack of usual responsiveness
• Generalized fear about many things
• Heightened arousal and confusion through fear and anxiety
• Cognitive confusion, seeming distracted, unable to focus or give attention
• Difficulty talking about event; lack of verbalization
• Difficulty identifying feelings or being aware of them
• Nightmares and other sleep disturbances
• Separation fears and clinging to caregivers
• Regressive symptoms (e.g., bedwetting, loss of acquired speech and motor skills)
• Inability to understand death as permanent
• Anxieties about death
• Grief related to abandonment by caregiver
• Somatic symptoms (e.g., stomach aches, headaches)
• Startle response to loud or unusual noises
• “Freezing” (sudden immobility of body)
• Fussiness, uncharacteristic crying, and neediness
• Avoidance of or alarm response to specific trauma-related reminders involving sights and physical sensations

School-aged Children (6-11 years)

• Feelings of responsibility and guilt for event
• Repetitious traumatic play and retelling over and over
• Feeling disturbed by reminders of the event/reliving the event
• Nightmares and other sleep disturbances
• Concerns about safety and preoccupation with danger
• Aggressive behavior and angry outbursts
• Fear of feelings and trauma reactions
• Close attention to parents’ or caregiver anxieties
• School avoidance, school refusal
• Worry and concern for others and their safety
• Changes in behavior, mood, and personality
• Somatic symptoms (complaints about bodily aches and pains)
• Obvious anxiety and fearfulness expressed openly
• Withdrawal, quite and removed from everyday play
• Specific trauma-related fears or general fearfulness
• Regression (behaving like a younger child)
• Separation anxiety, not wanting to separate from primary caregiver
• Loss of interest in activities, listless, lack of play
• Confusion and inadequate understanding of traumatic events (seen in play)
• Unclear understanding of death and the causes of “bad” events
• Giving magical explanations to fill in gaps in understanding
• Loss of ability to concentrate at school, with lowering of performance
• “Spacey” or distractible behavior

Need Help? Contact Julia Sorensen, MA, RPC, CCBT to learn more about these symptoms, request free resources, or book an online apptointment. Julia is the author of “Helping Young Children Transform Loss” to be released 2008. Julia can be reached at http://www.thecbtcoach.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julia_Sorens