An often overlooked psychological issue: Can children also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

Author: Wang Changhong, Chief Physician/Professor, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College

Reviewer: Guo Suqin, Chief Physician, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College

In the eyes of many people, children are always carefree and naive.

Therefore, when a child suddenly shows signs of irritability, silence, or insomnia, parents may easily mistakenly believe that the child is immature or has some physical abnormality, but they forget that children can also encounter psychological problems.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children, in particular, is easily ignored by parents because of its atypical symptoms.

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So, what are the symptoms of PTSD in children? How can we detect and help children with the disease?

1. Pay attention to those invisible "wounds"

There are many things that make children feel anxious and uneasy during their growth. If they are in this negative mood for a long time, it will not only reduce the child's immunity, but also seriously affect the child's growth.

So, what kind of things will have a greater impact on children?

◆Stressful life events

Such events mostly refer to environmental changes that require children to make adaptive changes, such as moving, graduation or transferring schools, the birth of a younger brother or sister, separation from family, death of a family member, etc., all of which require children to be forced to adapt to sudden changes in the surrounding environment.

For some introverted and poorly adaptable children, these changes will make them lose their sense of security and lead to certain psychological problems.

◆Sudden emergency events

An emergency event refers to an urgent incident that occurs suddenly and requires immediate handling, including natural disasters, accidental disasters, public health incidents and social security incidents.

These incidents not only endanger the mental health of children, but also require certain psychological counseling for some adults.

Therefore, when a child’s living environment changes or encounters an emergency, parents must observe their child’s behavior and pay attention to those invisible “wounds.”

Generally, children with mild symptoms will show mild depression, anxiety, hypochondria, insomnia and other symptoms, that is, stress reactions. In a few cases, strong stress can cause children to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is usually accompanied by the following symptoms.

•Sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep, night waking, teeth grinding, sleepwalking and other sleep disorders.

•Losing temper and being easily angered, with obvious behaviors such as crying, making a fuss, throwing tantrums, rolling on the ground, etc.

• Biting nails or sucking fingers. This behavior can bring a sense of security and satisfaction to children, and it occurs when the atmosphere is tense, the environment is quiet, or when they are hungry or tired.

• Defiant or destructive behavior. Always answering “no” to parents’ requests, or attacking people around them or damaging things.

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If a child shows one or more of the above symptoms, and has experienced stressful life events or sudden emergency events, we should consider whether he or she has PTSD.

For these psychological problems in children, it is best to combine home and school, detect them early and seek medical treatment early. So, how should we deal with them?

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2. How to deal with the impact of stressful life events on children

For children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), coping methods mainly rely on self-adjustment and help from parents, schools or the community.

◆Self-adjustment method

Breathing relaxation method can be used. Parents can guide children to put their hands on their abdomen, and when they inhale, their abdomen will slowly swell, and then pause for 3 to 5 seconds, and then slowly exhale. This can better help children stabilize their emotions.

In addition, it is important to maintain a healthy, regular daily routine. For younger children, you can discuss and develop a schedule with your parents. Older children can develop their own schedule and list it in a table. When each task is completed, mark it with a favorite symbol. In this way, children can experience the sense of victory of self-management and the sense of accomplishment of completing tasks, thereby reducing anxiety and uncertainty.

◆Home, school and community assistance law

As a parent, you should try to ensure that your child's daily life is the same as before the stressful event. Let your child know that even if a stressful life event occurs, there will be things in life that remain unchanged. You can also take your child to do some of the usual activities they used to do, such as appropriate exercise, study, etc. You can also read, play chess, play games, dance, etc. with your child.

As a teacher, you can encourage children to think more and experience more, let them express their opinions and views more, share their feelings, convey positive energy to them, and let them maintain an optimistic attitude.

The community is where children often live. While carrying out publicity work, community workers can do a good job of family follow-up for children of younger age, understand the children's situation, and ensure that the children are under guardianship. Children in difficulties should be reported in a timely manner, and the children should be placed and cared for in the later stage, and given care and warmth.

3. How to solve the psychological problems caused by sudden emergency events

Sudden emergencies can cause harm to the public's physical and mental health. Because children's physical and mental development is not yet mature, they lack the ability to self-regulate and protect themselves, making them more susceptible to sudden emergencies, have stronger psychological reactions, and are more likely to have stress reactions.

Therefore, parents and teachers should comprehensively observe children's daily performance, pay special attention to sudden changes in children, and pay attention to whether there are some accompanying symptoms, that is, whether there is a "stress response."

A common way to deal with this is for parents to attend psychology lectures organized by the school, master some adjustment methods, and improve their ability to identify symptoms of their children's negative emotions.

Through the linkage between home and school, we can carry out psychological club activities, organize psychological tests and make psychological files, and apply them to the communication with children. Among them, organizing psychological tests through questionnaire surveys can timely and comprehensively understand the psychological state of students. During this period, the school and parents should strengthen communication and contact.

In this way, it can help children adjust their mental state and deal with mental health problems in a timely manner.

I believe that through the unremitting efforts of all parties, the child will be able to smoothly pass through this special period and gradually return to normal life over time.