All children may experience very stressful events that affect how they think and feel. 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. The child could experience this trauma directly or could witness it happening to someone else. 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).
Examples of PTSD symptoms include:
Reliving the event over and over in thought or in play
Nightmares and sleep problems
Becoming very upset when something causes memories of the event
Lack of positive emotions
Intense ongoing fear or sadness
Irritability and angry outbursts
Constantly looking for possible threats, being easily startled
Acting helpless, hopeless or withdrawn
Denying that the event happened or feeling numb
Avoiding places or people associated with the event
Because 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).
Examples of events that could cause PTSD include:
Physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment
Being a victim or witness to violence or crime
Serious illness or death of a close family member or friend
Natural or manmade disasters
Severe car accidents
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. 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.
If you think your child may be suffering from PTSD, contact our office.
