Unfortunately, many events can be traumatic experiences for people. Natural disasters, automobile accidents, violence and abuse, war, and public shootings, for example, can be overwhelming and distressing for children as well as adults. Being aware of threats to physical safety can be taxing and traumatizing, especially for children.
Trauma refers to the psychological damage and the mental and emotional distress a person experiences after a disastrous or life-threatening occurrence. Such damage may occur when people are under extreme amounts of stress that surpass their coping capabilities. Traumatic experiences can result in emotional disturbances, including but not limited to, anger, sadness, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Being in an automobile incident or observing one, for example, can cause someone anguish. People may experience repeated involuntary and intrusive memories, thoughts, and flashbacks of an accident. Additional responses to road incidents and other traumatic events include panic attacks, nightmares, ongoing fear, and feelings of depression. These symptoms are characteristic of PTSD, a psychiatric condition that tends to develop following traumatic events. Car accident victims and traumatized witnesses may try to avoid places, situations, and people that remind them of accidents.
Recovering from physical, mental, or emotional pain caused by a motor vehicle incident can keep people from school and work, causing a loss of income. Accidents and injuries can also result in expensive medical bills that people may have a hard time paying. After an accident or other event that can cause fear, injury, trauma, PTSD, and other damages, victims and their families should consult a lawyer for legal aid.
Seeking legal counsel from a personal injury attorney, such as a professional at The Davis Kelin Law Firm, ensures you will receive fair compensation. The legal professionals at this New Mexico law firm are experts in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. While injured and traumatized accident victims focus on physically, emotionally, and mentally recovering, The Davis Kelin Law Firm fights for them to get the settlement they deserve.
Trauma can manifest in the form of fear, ongoing physical pain, sleep issues, deteriorating professional and personal relationships, and low self-worth. It’s crucial for people who experience a traumatic event to develop healthy coping mechanisms, as the effects of trauma can cripple their mental health and overall well-being.
Children can feel intense feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, and terror after a traumatic event. In extreme cases, children can have physiological responses such as vomiting, rapid heart rate, or loss of bladder or bowel control. Some children may have difficulty understanding that although parents, guardians, and other adults do their best to keep them safe, dangerous events can still occur inside and outside of households.
When internal and external traumatic events happen, parents and guardians should help and encourage children to enjoy themselves, and maintain their children’s routines as much as possible to give them a sense of normality and safety. Adults should choose the right time to share information about traumatic events. Doing so can keep children in touch with the world around them. Limiting conversations about traumatic events and exposure to news coverage is crucial, too, as overexposure could intensify mental and physical symptoms.
Realizing that children handle trauma in different ways is critical to helping them cope with a traumatic event. Parents of children affected by trauma and emotional or mental disorders should seek professional support from child therapists. Child therapists and skilled clinicians, such as those at The Ross Center, support children and teach them how to cope with PTSD, panic attacks, insomnia, and other mental health issues.
The renowned psychologists and psychiatrists at The Ross Center provide patient-centered treatment and solutions to young people impacted by mood disorders and anxiety. Enlisting the expertise of child therapists gives parents the tools and knowledge they need to support their children and respond to their trauma-driven behaviors and fears.
