(Part 2) 4 TYPES OF PTSD – WHICH GROUP ARE YOU IN?

DID YOU KNOW the brain chemistry of a child that has grown up in an abusive household, is actually changed?

When I first heard the statement “that the chemicals in a child’s brain are actually changed when living with domestic violence.” I was sitting around a table with 20 women watching a video on child abuse, actually in a shelter. It was as though somebody lifted a huge hidden burden I’d carried throughout my life that “nothing about my insecurities and low self-worth was my fault!”

TRAUMATIC EVENTS THAT CAN LEAD TO PTSD

• natural disasters
• terrorist attacks
• sudden death of a loved one
• sudden death or “loss” of a beloved pet
• rape
• kidnapping
• assault
• sexual or physical abuse
• childhood neglect
• war
• fire
• car accident

A child that has to focus on survival can’t concentrate, they can’t focus and if they can’t focus they can’t learn. That child can be misunderstood, they may learn to cover up what they perceive as inadequacies in themselves. So they could misbehave or appear shy or just quiet and reserved like I did. I’d say looking back at myself as a child, I can see a little girl that didn’t join in and stayed to myself. I had so much going on in my mind trying to be ok, there was no room for the antics of fun and play from the other kids that seemed to have “normal” lives.

I was shocked when I read there are hundreds of thousands of child abuse cases reported every year. If larger numbers of people understood the real numbers, they just might possibly understand then the prevalence of children with trauma. But it’s not until we have a disastrous school shooting or some other incident and everyone asks, “WHY?” 

My childhood wasn’t unlike millions of other kids. In fact every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made involving 6 million children. ** (multiple child homes) With the potential to either have or develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

EVERY ONE OF THOSE CASES AUTHENTICATED, COULD BE A CHILD WITH PTSD OR ONE THAT MAY BE ON THEIR WAY TO DEVELOPING IT.

THIS WOULD PACK 10 FOOTBALL STADIUMS….IMAGINE THAT!!!

Families where there is dysfunction are caught up in a cycle that is secretive and often difficult to see without somebody coming forward. If you see any of these signs in a child you know or something sort of just gnaws at you;

PLEASE DON’T IGNORE IT, REPORT IT!

12 SIGNS OF A POTENTIAL PROBLEM

• Behaving younger or reverting back.
• Being unable to talk, zoning out
• Stomach problems or headaches
• Refusal to go places or play with friends
• Sitting off to a side, scanning the room in quiet in a classroom setting or with others.
• Inability to trust or love others
• Aggressive, disruptive or illegal activity
• Anger
• Clingy or withdrawn
• Nightmares and sleep problems.
• Depression or what you perceive as feelings of sadness.
• Drug and alcohol abuse

THINGS YOU CAN DO

• Ask them what they are most worried about
• Provide structure to their activities in meals, homework and bedtime. Knowing what to expect and prepare them for any changes in their daily routines.
• Express their feelings through drawing or journaling
• Reduce their exposure to violent media, television, video games and movies.

We rarely get to hear what actually goes through the mind of someone with PTSD, much less a child’s mind and that pathway through adolescence to adulthood. I hope my effort to share with you parts of my life has been enlightening in some way. I’m excited to say that we are living in an exciting time of discovery in medical breakthroughs, with facts about healing the brain, memory, aging of the brain and restoration of brain cells. We know for instance we can actually replace those negative voices or tapes in our head. You know the ones that have kept us stuck or stopping what we start…never really reaching our full potential?

EVERYBODY DESERVES THE BEST OF WHAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER!

https://www.facebook.com/NancyWilkinsonSommers                                                                                          SpiritofRiley@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                   Twitter@NancySommers                                                                                                                                https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92805771&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic                           Instagram: NancyWilkinsonSommers                                                                                                     *Childhelp.org, *ptsd.va.gov