![]() ![]() Maybe you lost your mom and dad while you were out shopping.You panicked. If it’s hard to make a connection to what that feels like, just think back to a time when you were little. And just like any other creature in the natural world, these children adjust to being on their own in a world that feels big and bad. Other kids find their problems out in the world as they face the terror and humiliation of bullying. Or the adults are checked out on drugs and alcohol. ![]() These kids grow up and adapt to being around people that are mentally unstable, emotionally reactive,unpredictable. They are small, they are confused and they often have no big person who can guide, protect or comfort them. They see and hear things that terrify them. That’s because some kids grow up in what I call “high threat zones”. But preventing risks for trauma, like maltreatment, violence, or injuries, or lessening the impact of unavoidable disasters on children, can help protect a child from PTSD.Symptoms of childhood trauma in adults might be holding you back.Īlmost no one has a perfect childhood…but some kids have it much worse than others. Many factors may play a role, including biology and temperament. It is not known exactly why some children develop PTSD after experiencing stressful and traumatic events, and others do not. If you need help finding treatment facilities, visit.Find a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, a search tool by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Finder, a research tool by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).Psychologist Locator, a service of the American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Organization.Here are tools to find a healthcare provider familiar with treatment options: Medication may also be used to decrease symptoms. Behavior therapy, specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy, helps children learn to change thoughts and feelings by first changing behavior in order to reduce the fear or worry. Psychotherapy in which the child can speak, draw, play, or write about the stressful event can be done with the child, the family, or a group. Once the diagnosis is made, the first step is to make the child feel safe by getting support from parents, friends, and school, and by minimizing the chance of another traumatic event to the extent possible. Because the event was distressing, children may not want to talk about the event, so a health provider who is highly skilled in talking with children and families may be needed. For a PTSD diagnosis, a specific event must have triggered the symptoms. The first step to treatment is to talk with a healthcare provider to arrange an evaluation. Learn about the guidelines for diagnosing and treating PTSD Serious illness or death of a close family member or friend.Being a victim or witness to violence or crime.Physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment.Read a guide for clinicians on deciding if it is ADHD or child traumatic stress.Įxamples of events that could cause PTSD include Avoiding places or people associated with the eventīecause children who have experienced traumatic stress may seem restless, fidgety, or have trouble paying attention and staying organized, the symptoms of traumatic stress can be confused with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Denying that the event happened or feeling numb.Constantly looking for possible threats, being easily startled.Becoming very upset when something causes memories of the event.Reliving the event over and over in thought or in play.When children develop long term symptoms (longer than one month) from such stress, which are upsetting or interfere with their relationships and activities, they may be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The child could experience this trauma directly or could witness it happening to someone else. However, sometimes children who experience severe stress, such as from an injury, from the death or threatened death of a close family member or friend, or from violence, will be affected long-term. Most of the time, children recover quickly and well. All children may experience very stressful events that affect how they think and feel. ![]()
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