Navigating PTSD in Children: Recognizing Causes and Empowering Recovery

Abstract

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children (PTSD) Introduction There are various mental health problems that limit the child or any human to live a healthy life. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most common mental health conditions affecting children or any victim of a traumatic event. Like any other mental-related problem, posttraumatic stress disorder exposes the child to thinking difficulties arousing severe anxiety and uncontrollable thoughts about the event that exposed them to this condition. Therefore, parents must detect any signs of PTSD in their children and do their best to ensure the child feels well cared for and protected. Likewise, the teachers must have the ability to detect any signs of PTSD in their learners to employ the best approaches while handling them to make them feel appreciated and valued in any learning environment. Since this condition is not hereditary or a terminal illness, it implies that the victim can fully recover with proper management and care. For this reason, parents and teachers need to identify PTSD in children so that they receive proper care/help. The schools should provide services for PTSD children to become academically successful. What exactly is PSTD, and how does the condition affect a child's well-being? Causes and signs of posttraumatic stress disorder According to (Cohen and Scheeringa, 2022), posttraumatic stress disorder is a mental health disorder triggered by a terrifying event. The victim might have experienced such a scary event or witnessed the experience, adversely affecting mental well-being. For instance, a child might become exposed to childhood abuse whereby the child becomes the sole victim of torture like rape, fighting, and any other form of abuse from the parent/guardian or stranger. Being the primary victim of such abuses may significantly affect the child's mental well-being, with recurring thoughts of such experiences worsening the condition even long after exposure to the abuse. Alternatively, the child may not be the primary victim of the abuse but rather the main witness of the domestic violence/abuses experiences within the family (Cohen and Scheeringa, 2022). Some families have domestic wars, especially when the parents decide to fight as the most viable solution to any of their differences. Exposing a child to such childhood experiences enhances mental and psychological torture, adversely affecting their mental well-being, thus leading to PTSD. Other forms of physical or psychological torture may become exposed to the child when the parents/guardian/teacher choose severe punishment like beating, days without meals, or spending nights in the cold to discipline the children, which may inflict fear in such children mind-affecting their mental well-being. However, other forms of unpredictable and uncontrollable events like fire, car accidents, and mysterious deaths may traumatize children, making them to developmental problems even long after they witness or experience such traumatic events. One can argue that exposing a child to any traumatic event, whether affecting them physically or emotionally, may lead to PTSD, thus the need to remain conversant while handling such children, whether at home or school. Most PTSD signs do not start immediately but within a month or a year after the traumatic event experiences, thus the need for parents and teachers to remain conversant while analyzing a child's well-being (Miao et al., 2018). They are bad symptoms that interfere with the victims' ability to go about their routine daily tasks like learning and socializing amongst children. Intrusive memories serve as one of the major groups of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms that prove a severe threat to the victims’ mental well-being. Intrusive memories involve nightmares and flashbacks of the traumatic event that comes in recurring order resulting in the severe mental problem. When a child experiences severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds them of a traumatic event, their mind tends to become disturbed, acting weird toward themselves and others (Miao et al., 2018). It is the parent's responsibility to acknowledge such distressing changes in a child and report the traumatic event leading the child to such experiences to the psychiatrist and teacher for the proper care to become administered. Avoidance is another category of PTSD symptom that affects the child's well-being. Avoidance is among the symptoms that expose the child to severe emotional fights while balancing their current with their past experiences (Cohen and Scheeringa, 2022). During this period, the child or other victim tries their best to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event. The child may also try to avoid seeing people, places, or activities that remind them of the traumatic event. Unfortunately, trying to prevent exposes such victims to mental torture, which immediately leads to permanent mental health problems if not addressed appropriately. Adverse changes in thinking and mood are the third group of PTSD symptoms that significantly affect the victims' social being (Miao et al., 2018). For instance, a child may express negative thoughts about themselves and others, expressing hopelessness about life and the future. The child may also experience memory lapses, especially regarding the traumatic event, feel detached from families and friends, and find difficulties maintaining any relationships. Parents must be the first to acknowledge such changes and confront the child to understand the events that would lead them to such experiences if they are not aware of their worries. Last but not least, changes in the physical and emotional reactions are another form of PTSD symptoms that are easily detectable in a victim. The child may express trouble sleeping, concentrating, overwhelming guilt or shame, aggressive and self-destructive behaviors like drug abuse and violence, always being a guard for danger, and easily frightened (Miao et al., 2018). A parent or guardian always with the child must establish these physical and emotional changes and address them with the child or psychiatrist before too late. The teacher must also be notified to ensure that the child receives the proper attention at school to help them remain academically productive. Role of the parent, teacher, and psychologists in assisting PTSD children The parent/guardian is the first person who should establish changes within a child mainly attributed to PTSD symptoms and must help the child relax and feel safe (Hiller et al., 2018). The child has past traumatic event experiences, thus requiring a parent's shoulder to lean on. Therefore, the parent must create extra time to comfort and...