Trauma

Trauma and Stress
Play
When children (and adults) feel safe and connected they will use play to release their stress and trauma. Via play they will transform the ending into the resolve they need.
Crying, Raging & Body Movements
Along with play, people need to release the emotion through crying, raging, or body movements. Crying often can be via 'Broken Cookies' or similar themed triggers to past traumas.
The same function of play, laughter and crying is also how the body releases minor stressors and major traumas.
Stress and trauma can interfere with the learning process by causing confusion, anxiety, grief, anger, and difficulty concentrating. The learning process is enhanced when children are allowed to release painful emotions through the natural healing mechanisms of play, laughter, and crying.
Children will heal from trauma naturally if they;
Feel emotionally safe and connected
Revisit the trauma in some way
Allowed to react with natural biological healing mechanisms
Healing your traumatized child - Aletha Solter
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
What is trauma
Trauma is anything that causes physical or emotional pain or that threatens a child’s well being. Traumas can be minor events, such as the loss of a toy or a bee sting, or major life-changing events such as the death of a parent or a terrorist attack. Anything that the a child interprets as threatening can be traumatic, even when it does not pose a real danger. Trauma impacts children differently to adults.
Children have immature brains. If a child grows in an environment full of unpredictable threats or repeated painful, frightening experiences, that child’s neurological development will be different than that of a child whose early environment is less stressful.
Children are more vulnerable than adults because of their total dependency on others to provide food, shelter, clothing, protection, information, connection, and love. Children don’t have much power or freedom to make major decisions about their lives.
Healing your traumatized child - Aletha Solter
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
Examples of stress & trauma
Early Separation, Divorce, New Sibling, Death
Pre-Birth Stress and Trauma
Birthing Trauma
Parental, School & Environmental Stress
Core Needs Not Being Met
Prolonged illness within the family or Medical procedures
Pain, Accidents & Injuries
Other peoples strong fearful responses or witnessing scary events
Over Stimulation
Developmental Frustration
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
The Natural Recovery Process
From birth, children know how to release stress, heal from trauma, and regain homeostasis. However, they must become active and emotionally aroused before reaching a calm state.
The first step is to revisit the trauma in some way in order to retrieve the memories.
While revisiting trauma, children need to experience a level of arousal similar to what they felt during the original trauma, release the emotions, and complete the urge to perform movements of defense or escape.
There needs to be a balance of attention, between feelings of distress and safety in order for children to benefit from revisiting trauma.
A Parents role is to help your child feel safe, recognize their attempts to heal, and trust their natural healing process. Soothing methods can stop the crying and can put babies into mild dissociation, which is usually only temporary.
Revisiting Trauma With and Without Emotional Safety and Connection
Without emotional safety and connection
Activation & Hyper-arousal
Dissociation
With emotional safety, healing mechanisms activated
Crying, tantrums
Trembling & twitching.
Play, Laughter
Healing Your Traumatized Child Chapter 3 - Aletha Solter
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
Emotional Safety and Connection
Children need both safety and connection to process and heal from trauma effectively.
Feeling safe and connected during a frightening event can prevent both hyperarousal and dissociation as well as the development of post-traumatic symptoms.
Safety
Children need to know that there is no longer any threat.
Be present if you know your child will face a painful or frightening experaince. Stay in close proximity.
If you use a punitive approach to discipline, change to a non-punitive approach.
Your own emotional and physical state can affect your children’s sense of safety.
Children need to trust that you can tolerate all of their emotions and that nothing they say or do will cause you to reject them. If you tell your child to stop crying, try to distract him from crying, they will feel that you are not willing to listen.
Connection
Both hyperarousal and dissociation cause children to disconnect not only from their emotions but also from other people, the environment, and their bodies.
Being touched during stressful events help lower physiological and behavioral signs of stress than those who have physical contact.
Eye contact, touch, hand-holding, hugs, massages, or co-sleeping are benefical.
Children who are chronically hyperaroused or dissociative may need additional help to connect to the environment, bodies and caregivers.
Sensory stimulation activities can counteract both of these chronic physiological states.
Playing with sand, water, clay, or finger paints can help hyperaroused children slow down and take the time to notice their environment, beginning with these different textures.
Outdoor cooperative games that include movements such as jumping, running (but not races), climbing, rolling, throwing, or swinging. In addition to helping your children feel connected to you, these physical activities provide an antidote to the numbness and immobility which often follow traumatic experiences. They stimulate the vestibular and proprioceptive senses (detection of body movement and position), so they represent a form of sensory stimulation.
P63-69 Healing your traumatised child ebook edition
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
Using play to resolve trauma
The following sequance of play help children feel safe to start releasing trauma. Connecting play → Power Reversal play → Transformative play
There is no such things as too much power-reversal play!
4 types of play establish connection.
Activities with body contact
Cooperative games and activities
Nonsense play
Contingency play
5 types of play transform experiences & memories.
Non-directive child-centered play
Symbolic play with specific props or themes
Separation games
Regression play
Power-reversal games
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
Tips for helping children regain confidence and joy
Give accurate age appropriate information.
Limit overstimulation and unpredictability.
Allow opportunities of empowerment like the ability to make choices and decisions.
Be flexible about household rules, but don’t hesitate to set loving limits.
Create opportunities for success, mastery and collaboration.
Provide experiences of beauty and joy that are enjoyed together.
Encourage self-expression and creativity through art, music, writing & storytelling or dance.
Copyright Steven Simmons ©
Community
An African proverb; It takes a village to raise a child
The modern international society has lost the concept of a tribe and how a group supports each other. Individualization is encouraged over collaboration and connection.
Find ways to be part of the community either via the parent/teacher associations, cultural or community groups, disability support groups, special interests/hobbies and religious institutes are places communities can be found.
Next Section - Attachment Repair
Copyright Steven Simmons ©