If your child told you they were afraid to leave the house for
fear of something bad happening to them what would you say? Would you dismiss it as an over reaction or
would you consider for a moment that they could truly be scared.
Welcome to Urban Trauma.
Children who grow up in very poor neighborhoods in Chicago and other
urban centers witness violence on an almost daily basis, whether in their homes,
on their block or at school. Imagine
yourself, as a school age child walking to school and stumbling upon a crime
scene were a body is lying in the street, alley, etc. How would you react?
In order to cope you would
need to normalize the situation. To a traumatized child, the fear of death is a
fact of life. So much so, it needs to be managed.
So how do you as a parent, teacher or caring adult deal with a child
that has witnessed violence on a regular basis?
With caring and understanding.
Think about this for a
moment, can a young person exposed to daily trauma be expected to adhere to
normal rules? Can a young person exposed
to violence expect to receive straight A’s?
As a therapist I’m disappointed that post traumatic stress is taken
seriously in war veterans but not with urban children. PTSD is real!
Ask any child who has experienced real trauma. Exposure to a traumatic
event leaves one with no choice but to start over and try to pick up the
pieces. They must re-create safe zones
and make sense of things that don’t make sense.
Most suffer from recurring nightmares, hyper-vigilance and depression. They are easily startled at loud sounds or suffer
sudden bouts of emotion including crying and anger. These symptoms are a problem for both victim
and family. Most just want to forget but
cannot. In their quest to become normal
they are often misunderstood and simply told to get over it. Most experts agree that it is necessary to
seek professional help when symptoms don’t go away on their own. Remember they are the victims and their
behaviors are justified, so we as adults need to be more caring.
