When children experience something emotionally painful or terrifying, we talk about this as a traumatic event. It could be anything like abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, community violence, accidents, natural disasters, or other distressing events. Trauma during fundamental development years often causes both short- and long-term struggles. Providing compassionate support helps facilitate healing.
Common Effects of Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma can profoundly affect brain development, which leads to emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social, and physical consequences. Common effects include anxiety, depression, anger issues, learning difficulties, problems socializing, low self-esteem, self-harm tendencies, sleep disturbances, and headaches/stomachaches. To that end, the experts over at Aspire Psychological tell us that post-traumatic stress therapy is essential when it comes to overcoming trauma.
Creating a Safe Environment
Children dealing with trauma need to feel secure. Maintaining a routine, avoiding chaotic spaces, eliminating exposure to additional stressors, and providing comfort with things like stuffed animals or blankets helps meet their emotional needs. Always speak gently, project calmness, allow expressions of feelings, and offer affection.
Fostering Open Communication
It is really important that kids feel heard, understood, and believed. Let them guide the pace of conversations, but never demand details before they are ready. Listen without judgement, reassure them of safety and support, empathize with their pain, and try to normalize their struggles. Nevertheless, avoid making false promises; give honest answers when possible.
Encouraging Healthy Coping Skills
Kids need to be taught positive ways of processing complex feelings and releasing stress/anxiety. Creative arts like music, drawing, writing, dance, and dramatics allow emotional outlets. Calming activities like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, and visualization promote relaxation, while things like journaling enable processing feelings. Spending time outdoors, exercising, or playing with pets can also help to boost mood.
Maintaining Developmental Milestones
Even through trauma recovery, try to uphold important childhood milestones as best as possible so as to avoid further delays. Taking part in age-appropriate learning activities, social events, chores, decision-making, and new experiences helps kids catch up. Be sure not to overwhelm them though.
Seeking Professional Help
Besides at-home support, seek professional help from counselors, therapists, support groups, or rehabilitation programs specializing in childhood trauma. Evidence-based approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization can be amazingly effective over time. Having coping skills and emotional processing guided by experts leads to considerable progress.
Considering Medication
For moderate-to-severe anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, attention deficits, and other mental health issues resulting from trauma, medication may provide relief while therapy does its work. Consult a pediatric psychiatrist or primary care provider to explore options. Track progress and side effects closely, pairing meds with other interventions.
Providing Stability through Changes
Routines help kids feel safe when their world feels upside down. Maintain regular schedules for meals, activities, school, therapies, health appointments, and even small daily rituals like reading before bedtime. Consistency and predictability are calming. However, some change is growth-promoting. Help kids adapt through graduations, new schools/grades, relocations, evolving visitation agreements, and more by thoroughly explaining what to expect and giving ample time to process transitions.
Celebrating Progress
Healing from childhood trauma is a long journey, requiring encouragement along the way. Notice and praise every small step forward, not just major milestones. Progress may not be linear either. Anxiety spikes or emotional regressions are normal. Convey unconditional patience and love, emphasizing effort over perfection. Share excitement and optimism about their growing emotional skills and strength. Forward momentum will ebb and flow, but support propels overall growth.
Conclusion
With compassion, professional help, stability, and encouragement, children can overcome traumatic wounds to thrive again. While patience and hard work is required, meeting kids where they are at and guiding them forward leads to incredible emotional healing over time as coping skills develop. Progress takes time and effort, but is absolutely possible with the right support system.