HEALTH DEALING WITH TRAUMA HELPING KIDS PROCESS HARDSHIP CAUSED BY COVID-19 BY REBEKKAH WILLIAMS 22 GREY-BRUCE KIDS • FALL <strong>2021</strong>
Over this past year-and-a-half, our world has faced unprecedented hardship. COVID-19 changed everything; the very nature of how we behave as social creatures has been indelibly affected. The pandemic continues to cause additional stressors, and it is imperative that we adapt to this new reality with flexible thinking patterns. It is an evolving global world. The pandemic has caused a crisis of physical, public and mental health, including rising addiction and personal hardships of many types. There has been unprecedented stress put upon our children, from shifting formats of learning, to unprecedented amounts of screen time, and the removal of friends, school and social supports. Anxiety in families and individuals is at an all-time crisis point. For some kids school, socialization and extra-curriculars are a relief from the stressors at home. Some kids have had to deal with chronic adult issues and domestic crisis, while others have had to navigate increased substance use at home and intensified abuses. COVID-19 forced us to make sudden and dramatic changes to our lives, which has seen us pivot quickly, with no certainty for how long or to what end. So now what? How do we ‘get back to normal’ when no one knows what that will look like? When transitioning back to ‘normal’ life after such a traumatic event we need to redefine what ‘normal’ even is. And what can we do to help support our children? Trauma is a fact of life. However, so is resilience. RESILIENCE Resilience is the capacity that we all possess to rebound from stress, feelings of fear, helplessness and being overwhelmed. We actually build the capacity and increase our resilience as we encounter the stressors and traumas of life. Trauma can result from many extraordinary events such as violence or child abuse, and also from everyday events like medical procedures and accidents. Changes in family structure can cause children to develop negative feelings, withdraw, and develop anxiety or behavioural problems such as aggression. The way trauma is responded to is either by building increased capacity and resilience or being traumatized and displaying negative psychological, emotional and physical behaviours. By the nature of trauma, it tends to be an intense experience which overwhelms the child, often coming out of nowhere, leaving them altered and disconnected, perhaps from their body, mind and spirit. Trauma can also be the result of ongoing fear, tension, and anxiety. It is the opposite of empowerment. Vulnerability to trauma differs from child to child depending on a variety of factors, including age, quality of early bonding and attachment, trauma history, and genetic pre-disposition. Often, the younger the child, the more likely they will be overwhelmed by an experience that might not overwhelm an older child. The child’s capacity for resilience is a paramount factor in determining severity symptoms. TRAUMA AND THE BODY The physiological connection to trauma – rather than psychological – is grounded in the fact that, at the base of our brains, the limbic system is hard-wired for survival. The limbic system controls our basic survival instincts, which means our primary responses are instinctual. When faced with something fearful, there is redirection of blood flow away from the digestive and skin organs and into the large motor muscles for flight. There is fast and shallow respiration and a decrease in the normal output of saliva. Pupils dilate to increase the ability of the eyes to take in more information. Blood clotting increases, while verbal ability decreases. Muscles often become excited, causing the child trouble. Alternatively, when faced with mortal threat or prolonged stress, certain muscles may collapse in fear as the body shuts down in an overwhelmed state. In fact, as trauma also diverts muscle responsiveness away from certain areas (such as the bladder) to more necessary areas (legs), this is the reason we pee our pants if faced with sudden fear. It’s important to remember we’re all animals. Pay attention to self-care. Respond to your body through trauma first aid – pay attention to eating high-quality whole foods and drinking lots of water. Rest. Sleep. Go outside and breathe in the air. Lie on your back and look at the stars. Walk. Run. Scream. Connect with nature and animals. TRAUMA AND REGRESSION When traumatized, children are in a state of alarm, or – and this important to remember – even if they are reminded of the trauma, they will be less capable of concentrating, will be more anxious, and will pay more attention to non-verbal cues such as tone of voice, body posture and facial expressions. Trauma can cause regression and a loss of learned skills and information. During COVID-19, children have not had access to learning on an even scale. The fluctuation between online and in-person learning, as well as differing levels of parental oversight for home-schooling, has created an uneven landscape of learning and social skills. Teachers and schools need to be mindful of the fact that the content is of far less importance than the return to a safe, socialized environment. Children are experiencing unprecedented amounts of anxiety, and the school environment needs to help children acclimate by establishing safety and positive non-anxiety provoking environments and routines. Children will need more coaching on how to resolve interpersonal issues and cope with separation anxiety. Children at school would benefit from increased physical education, yoga, and exercises involving self-awareness, emotional intelligence and healthy social relationship activities, including role-playing. TRAUMA AND KIDS’ BRAINS It is crucial to understand that a child’s brain is different from that of an adult because it is still developing. Children gradually greybrucekids.com • 23
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