What is trauma and what can I do about it?
This page is about trauma and how you or your child can recover from it. When we say “you” we are speaking to the child or teen or who is dealing with trauma.
What is trauma?
Trauma is an emotional response to a scary, harmful, or stressful event. Some possible traumatic events are:
- Abuse (such as when a parent hits a child)
- Accidents (such as a car crash)
- Natural disasters (such as a tornado)
- Sudden death of a loved one
- Seeing violence (such as when a parent hits the other parent)
- Serious health events (such as a major surgery)
You may experience trauma when you go through the event yourself or when you see or hear about other going through an event.
Can trauma cause mental health problems?
Many people face difficult events and recover from them on their own. But some people keep feeling bad after the event is over. They might develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is a mental health problem where you cannot recover after a difficult event. It continues to impact your life for months or years after the event.
What are the symptoms of trauma and PTSD?
PTSD can affect many parts of your life, such as:
- How you think. You may:
- Have scary or dark thoughts that keep coming up
- Have a hard time focusing or remembering things
- Try hard to not think about the event
- Have nightmares about the event
- How you feel. You may feel:
- Upset when reminded of the event
- Unhappy or depressed
- Nervous, jittery, or on edge
- Like the event is happening again (flashback)
- How you act. You may:
- Replay the event in your mind or in your play
- Not want to do fun things or play anymore
- Try hard to not be reminded of the event
- Act rashly or get angry with others
- How your body works. You may have:
- A hard time falling or staying asleep
- Headaches or stomachaches
How do I know if I have PTSD?
- Find a therapist in your area
- Talk to your doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist. They can review your symptoms and decide if you have PTSD or not.
- Take a mental health screener. This survey helps you see your possible trauma symptoms. You can bring your screener results with you to a doctor or therapist’s visit.
How do I get better if I have PTSD?
PTSD is hard, but there are ways to get better. Some options are to:
- Go to mental health therapy
- Take medication, if prescribed
- Make changes to your daily routine to feel better
How can therapy help with PTSD?
Therapy is when you talk to a therapist trained in mental health. Some therapies that could help you feel better include:
- CPP (Child-Parent Psychotherapy)
- TF-CBT (Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy)
- CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy)
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)
- PE-A (Prolonged Exposure for Adolescents)
Find a therapist in your area.
How can medicine help with PTSD?
Some medicines may help with PTSD. Talk with your doctor or psychiatrist to see if medicine is right for you.
How else can I make changes to feel better?
Other ways you can help PTSD get better are:
- Keep a regular routine and spend time together as a family
- Take actions to stay safe or ask your caregiver to help keep you safe
- Talk about your feelings after the event, but do not force it