Stressful circumstances can cause emotional and psychological trauma in your adolescent, leaving them feeling vulnerable and powerless.
What Kinds of Trauma do Adolescents Face?
One-time incidents like an accident, injury, natural disaster, or violent attack can leave a person with lasting emotional and psychological scars. Persistent stress, such as that induced by sexual harassment at work, a dangerous neighborhood or a debilitating illness can also lead to emotional and psychological distress.
The death of a loved one, a recent operation, the loss of a career, the end of a meaningful relationship, or a severely unpleasant event are common causes of emotional and psychological trauma. And sometimes it goes unrecognized.
Childhood trauma, such as living in an unstable or unsafe environment, being separated from a parent, or suffering from a significant disease, increases the risk of traumatic experiences in adolescence. This also includes experiencing neglect, physical, verbal or sexual abuse.
Trauma Symptoms and Signs in Adolescents
Every adolescent will process traumatic events differently. Grief reactions to traumatic situations can manifest in various physical manifestations. Resolving trauma usually takes the assistance of a trained trauma therapist.
Thankfully, you can do a few things to alleviate their pain.
1. Having Your Adolescent Participate in Extracurricular Activities
Isolation, depression, and even suicidal ideation are all possible outcomes of a traumatic experience. You may help your child heal from the effects of trauma by encouraging them to spend time with friends. They may also engage in extracurricular activities like sports or after-school programs, become a volunteer, or join a trauma support group. Parents can make a difference by seeking out and enrolling their children in a local support group.
2. Get Them Moving
Moving about and exercising have been demonstrated to help release the endorphins, chemicals in the body that help us feel good. Energy, alertness, and physical health can all be heightened with regular exercise. If you want to encourage your adolescent to exercise, try joining them in something active like a jog, hike, yoga class, or play a game.
3. Keep them in Good Health
Good mental and emotional well-being requires a healthy body. Your adolescent should get plenty of sleep (at least eight hours per night), eat healthily, avoid substances like alcohol and tobacco, and exercise regularly.
4. Having Patience and Being Active
Trauma treatment can be a lengthy process. Your adolescent’s mood may not change for several weeks or months, so be patient and continue to offer support and encouragement. You should anticipate and be empathetic about successes and failures alike.
5. Seek Professional Assistance
Seeing a trauma-informed therapist may be the next step if you believe your child is not making progress. Somatic experiencing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are some of the methods used by trauma therapists with their clients. For your child to progress in therapy, it is crucial that they feel comfortable and safe with their therapist.
Conclusion
Teenagers suffering from emotional and psychological distress is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Many elements can contribute to this problem, and it is essential to be aware of them so that we can help our teenagers to cope with their distress. With the proper support, teenagers can overcome emotional and psychological pain and lead happy and healthy lives.
Suppose your adolescent’s response is causing them to change their behavior and mood for an extended period. In that case, it may be the right moment to seek professional help.
Sarah J. Person, LCSW-R is a licensed clinical social worker who sees clients in Brooklyn, Long Island, and upstate New York. Talking about problems and making connections to prior experiences is a common part of psychotherapy, as is developing new skills to break destructive habits and resolving emotional trauma through internal and external processes.
When seeking out a psychotherapist, it can be helpful to chat to someone who is friendly, empathetic, objective, and humorous. Sarah J. Person is able to assist. Contact us immediately if you are seeking a psychotherapist in the Long Island, New York area.