How to Identify Stress in Your Child

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents may include the following, but vary among individuals.  Such symptoms are indicative of PTSD when they reflect a change from the individual’s prior functioning, behavior, or emotional experience.

To identify stress in your child, look for these symptoms:

• difficulty sleeping
• sad or depressed mood
• feeling jittery or on guard
• being easily startled
• loss of interest in things they used to enjoy
• feelings of detachment, numbness, and lack of responsiveness
• periods of blanking out, staring off while awake
• discomfort with physical affection
• irritability
• increased thoughts about and fear of dying
• regressive behaviors (baby talk, thumb sucking, bedwetting)
• increased complaints of physical discomfort often with the bodily location changing frequently (headaches, stomach aches)
• increase in aggressive behavior
• avoiding certain places or situations that bring back memories
• flashbacks or intrusive images
• losing touch with reality
• reenactment of an event for a period of seconds or hours or, very rarely, days
• difficulty concentrating

If  your child has experienced a traumatic event, and you are noticing any of the above signs of distress or trauma, contact me or seek other professional help as soon as possible.