TRAUMA 101
This is something that can happen when an experience feels overwhelming, frightening, or unsafe?
Trauma
A kid is repeatedly insulted, threatened, humiliated, or made to feel worthless. What type of abuse is this?
Choices: Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Neglect, Grief/Separation
Emotional Abuse
Someone tells you about a surprise party they're planning and tells you to keep it a secret. Is this a safe or unsafe secret?
Safe
Cleaning your room.
Adult or Kid Job?
Kid
A child doesn't tell because they are afraid they will get in trouble.
Is this a possible reason kids don't tell?
Yes
A person keeps avoiding a place because it makes them think of something that scared them before. What do we call this?
Trauma Reminder
A child is repeatedly left alone for long periods of time without appropriate supervision. What type of abuse is this?
Choices: Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Neglect, Grief/Separation
Neglect
Someone tells you that you can't tell anyone about something that happened because "You'll get in trouble."
Is this a safe or unsafe secret?
Unsafe
Your parents are arguing and you decide it's your responsibility to make them stop.
Adult or Kid Job?
Adult
Give an example of a reason a kid might not tell a secret?
- "Nobody will believe me."
- They were threatened
- They thought what happened was their fault
Someone says, "It wasn't that bad. Other people have been through worse."
Why doesn't this automatically mean the experience couldn't have affected them?
Trauma reactions are individual.
A child witnesses a parent physically hurting another family member. They aren't physically hurt themselves. What type of trauma could this still involve?
Physical Abuse / Exposure to Domestic Violence
True or False: A secret is automatically safe just because someone you trust told you to keep it.
False
Your parent is struggling emotionally and tells you, "You're the only person who can make me feel better." Is making them feel better your responsibility?
Adult or Kid Job?
A child cares about the person who hurt them. Why might that make telling especially difficult?
They don't want to get the person in trouble, or worry the person may not love and care for them if they tell.
A person experiences something difficult and seems completely fine at first, but reactions appear months later. Can trauma reactions show up later?
Yes, trauma reactions are not always immediate.
A child's parent passes away after being sick for a long time. After the passing, the child has to move to a new home and change schools.
Name TWO types of loss/separation involved for this child.
Loss of parent
Separation from home/school / community
Someone says, "Don't tell anyone what happened. If you do, I'll hurt you."
What makes this an unsafe secret?
The person is threatening you.
Your family is having financial problems. You decide you have to figure out how to pay the bills.
Adult or Kid Job?
Adult
False
Explain why the brain might continue reacting to something that is no longer happening.
Your brain and body stay on high alert after something scary happens which means your brain/body is continuing to try to protect you even if it doesn't have to any more.
A teenager says, "If something happened to me but nobody physically hurt me, it wasn't trauma."
What would you tell them?
Just because you weren't physically hurt doesn't mean that your experiences weren't scary, upsetting, or distressing. Trauma can include anything that affects someone in that way, not just physically affected.
Name TWO signs that a secret may be unsafe.
- You're being threatened not to tell
- The secret involves harming someone physically or emotionally
- It makes you uncomfortable, you get a bad feeling about it
A kid says, "If I had behaved better, none of this would have happened."
What kid-vs-adult responsibility idea could you teach them?
Children are responsible for their own choices, but adults are responsible for the environment, outcomes, and big decisions in the family.
A child's behavior can cause consequences, but it never makes them responsible for an adult's choices.
A child waits several years before telling someone. Does waiting automatically mean they're lying?
No