Saturday, May 30, 2015

Violence has a stressor





 

I believe that violence is a stressor for many children. I had a friend whose son was shot and it took a toll on his children. They were scared to sleep and started doing worse in school.  They would not trust anybody except their family. Violence to me is one of the biggest stressor for everyone but really bad for the children. They do not understand what is happening and why people would be so mean and want to hurt another person.  According to an article in the Daily Science; "We know that exposure to violence is linked with aggression, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms and academic and cognitive difficulties in the short term, but little is known about the long-term effects of such exposure," said Elizabeth Susman, Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State. "Our data show that the stress reaction to violence exposure is not just immediate.”( www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120703162630.htm).

To help them along their parents got them into counseling to help deal with their emotions and to help them find other ways to deal with the stress of it all.

A country that I am interested in learning more is Kuwait my son was stationed there and he told me some things that sounded interesting.

I was wondering how the children were doing after the war. According to the article I read the children are still having problems many years later.

People suffered from this brutal and fateful period when the country was under occupation, either by being forced to start over from scratch or by working in a new job, building a new house. Many people fell into poverty.


Experts have identified a number of different unhealthy emotions felt by those who lived through the occupation. The emotions themselves are not particularly different or unique from what children experience in many other situations. However, in this PTSD context, the Kuwaiti children are experiencing a number of these emotions simultaneously and with greater intensity. And this intensity, if left untreated, increases with time. Anxiety is the most common aspect of post-traumatic stress disorder especially in children. It is an unpleasant emotional state. It is frequently followed by physiological symptoms that may lead to fatigue or even exhaustion. It is something that I hope the children and all the people can get over what has happen and learn to be happy once again.

Penn State. "Exposure to violence has long-term stress effects among adolescents." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 July 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120703162630.htm>.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in Kuwait." 123HelpMe.com. 30 May 2015
    <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=44228>.

 

 

 

1 comment:

  1. Dear Mary,
    I found your post interesting and i agree violence is really a bad thing at an early age. It is like violence in speech that children can face at school.
    And i also agree on the consequences of war. Even in my country Rwanda after 21 years there are still people who are traumatized. I think they did not have the psychological care needed. These all stressors are very damaging if not well treated.

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