It is terrifying and heartbreaking to see your child suffer from trauma like PTSD and struggle to lead a normal life. They start lacking in playing and other activities which are mostly loved by children of their age. The full form of PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
They also get traumatic attacks now and then and start becoming dull. This is a very disturbing sight that affects not only them but also their parents, who feel incapable of handling them. And sometimes, the same affect your presents if you are an adult.
But why do certain children behave like this and exhibit such behavior? What compels them to act differently than other children of their age?
Probably it is because they suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). But what is PTSD and how does it affect children?
Let us find out more about PTSD and PTSD treatment as well so that you can give yourself or your child a normal life.
But, before proceeding further with the article, it is worthwhile to note that if you are an adult who has not been able to come out of your childhood traumatic experiences, then this article is a proper guide for you to self-assess your PTSD and seek professional help from a psychologist.
Now, let’s understand what PTSD is exactly.
What Is PTSD and How Does It Affect Children?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, often abbreviated as PTSD, is a mental illness that can affect people of any age. In children, it can be quite difficult to cope with the condition as they are not mature enough to understand the origin of the problem and its complexities.
PTSD can occur due to many reasons like the impact of past events they faced that caused them immense stress. It includes deaths, murders, sexual abuse, abusive childhood, domestic violence, and other violent crimes. Natural disasters like hurricanes, floods or car crashes, fires, and shootings may also cause them to suffer from the disorder.
Any violence, death, or abuse brings them under the radar of getting affected by PTSD. These stressful events strip away their innocence, making them afraid, anxious and depressed.
Read Also: WHAT ARE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER SYMPTOMS & HOW TO GET RID OF THEM?
Abusive or Traumatic childhood leaves lots of scars on an individual which affects his life, relationships, and work when he grows up. Watch the below Youtube to know more.
Subscribe to Revamp Mind to watch videos on mental health, toxic relationships, personal growth, career, and finance.
What Are The Complex PTSD Symptoms In Children?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects differently in different individuals. Some people recover quickly from the effects, while some may show long-term negative effects. PTSD disorder affects them personally and hinders them from leading a normal and enjoyable life. So, it is advisable to go for the best PTSD treatment for them as early as possible.
Let’s see what are PTSD symptoms.
The signs of PTSD disorder can be detected by the following complex PTSD symptoms.
- Sleeplessness
- Nightmares
- Acting lost and withdrawn
- Lack of interest in playing
- Disinterested in meeting friends or new people
- Frequent anger outbursts
- Becoming upset while talking about the past
- Easily irritated
- Avoiding going to the place where the event occurred
- Getting startled by the slightest of things
- An intense feeling of fear
- Suddenly become sad or upset remembering the incident while playing or in thought.
You can read more about the causes of mental illness here or watch the below video that talks about PTSD and other types of anxiety disorders.
What Are PTSD Treatment Available For Your Child?
If you witness any of the above symptoms in your children or any of your acquaintances, take them to a healthcare provider to arrange and run an evaluation. However, if, as an adult, you find yourself suffering from PTSD symptoms, you are required to seek professional help as soon as possible.
PTSD is a mental disorder that doesn’t get treated solely with medicines. It needs proper counseling and a talk with someone who can understand the sensitivity of the issue.
The further steps involved with the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are as follows:
1] Proper Assessment
Proper assessment of the patient or the victim is what will lead to an effective result. Observing the individual’s severity, the respective experts can prescribe treatment. Mental health specialists and experts are recommended to talk to the affected person to make them feel safe and share their issues regarding PTSD trauma.
See Also: THE BEST ANXIETY DISORDER TREATMENTS – GET RID OF TOXIC PEOPLE
2] Monitoring
While some patients get well after the first few sessions without any further help, the traumatic effects reside for a long time in some children and refuse to leave.
It is important to monitor their symptoms to see whether they improve or worsen. If the case of worsening symptoms is seen, further steps are applied. However, many people do not know the complex PTSD meaning and do not seek help from professionals, which might worsen the condition of the ones struggling with PTSD.
3] Psychological Help/ Therapies
Psychological therapies greatly help to deal with treating mental disorders. It requires more than one session to completely heal the patient and help them to emerge from the PTSD trauma. If the symptoms are severe, a combination of therapy and medicines is prescribed.
In the case of children, they are asked to explain the event through drawing, writing, or playing games. It helps them speak about the event and the trauma inflicted without hesitation. While in adults are recommended to speak about their childhood traumatic experiences verbally to a psychiatrist or a counselor to help them vent out their bad experiences.
A Handy Guide To Deal With The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
If you are a mature teen, an adult, or a parent of adolescent children, you can read this book, Toxic people: Learn to Identify & Handle them & Rediscover Yourself, by Nitya Rambhadran.
It talks about ways to lead a stress-free and positive life by forgetting the traumatic childhood past.
Living with toxic people can increase your stress and anxiety levels and increase the chances of mental health issues, especially in childhood. And it’s important to identify toxic people as they can use tactics like manipulation, gaslighting, victim card, guilt, anger, etc for their benefit.
This Ebook “Toxic People– Learn to identify and handle them and rediscover yourself” – will help you to identify them, keep them out of your life and control your mental health issues. The ebook has essential steps in simple language that everyone can understand.
You can purchase this ebook using the below links –
Click on the below page For India Purchase.
Click on the Below Link For International purchases.
Toxic people: Learn to Identify & Handle them & Rediscover Yourself – Payhip
Summing Up
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not easy to deal with, especially when it occurs in childhood. As an adult, you can talk it out or seek professional help for the betterment of the condition.
Some negative events from our childhood affect our adulthood as well, which inflicts trauma at a later age. Talking about mental health isn’t taboo anymore, and neither should it ever be. So, you must confide in your close ones and professionals to get out of the situation as soon as possible.
Subscribe to Revamp Mind to watch videos on mental health, toxic relationships, personal growth, career, and finance.
Note: We are not professionals in the field of mental health or PTSD. The information provided here is solely based on our thorough research. So, if you or your child is suffering from PTSD, we recommend you seek professional help to get rid of problems as early as possible.
