SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Trauma can leave lasting scars. Research shows that people who experience childhood trauma have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. More than 60% of Americans report having experienced childhood trauma, and two thirds of children report a traumatic event by age 16, including trauma caused by natural disasters. How parents, their families and their communities help young people cope during these tough times is crucial.
When we think of trauma, we often think of shootings, car crashes, or abuse, but each year, 175 million children are affected by natural disasters. And their parents are critically important when it comes to recognizing and responding to the signs of trauma.
“When you’re little and you get a sense that the world is dangerous or that people are dangerous, that can shape your trajectory because you have expectations that bad things might happen, and so your way of relating to other people, your neurobiology gets wired for danger,” explained Chandra Ghosh Ippen, PhD, clinical psychologist and associate director of the Child Trauma Research Program at UCSF.
While some children will talk about their fears and feelings, others may experience hidden trauma and may become more irritable, fight more with siblings, lose focus at school or become more hypervigilant.
“When they tend to show their distress through their behavior, we tend to view it as misbehavior and not understand that it’s connected to what they’re going through,” Ghosh Ippen told Ivanhoe.
Parents can help by letting children talk about their feelings. That’s why Ghosh Ippen developed the Trinka and Sam disaster series involving a story, coloring book, and parenting guide to help families start the conversation.
“You see how Trinka and Sam are helped to feel safe. And then you see how the community comes together,” she said.
And they not only help the children, but adults too.
“It’s designed to be supportive of everybody who touches it,” Ghosh Ippen explained.
The Trinka and Sam disaster series has been distributed to over 400,000 people in 103 countries. It’s totally free and can be easily downloaded in several languages at piploproductions.com.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Executive Producer; Joe Alexander, Videographer; and Bob Walko, Editor.
Produced by Child Trends News Service in partnership with Ivanhoe Broadcast News and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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Sources:
https://compassionprisonproject.org/childhood-trauma-statistics/
https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/understanding-child-trauma
https://piploproductions.com/stories/trinka-and-sam/
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at [email protected]