What is PTSD?

PTSD can occur following the experience of an extremely traumatic or upsetting event. This could be the death of someone close, a serious accident or witnessing something terrible happening to someone else.

How might I experience PTSD?

PTSD affects different people in different ways.

Feelings can include:

• Worry.
• Low mood.
• Guilt.
• Anger.
• Frustration.
• Anxiety.
• Tension.

Sensations in the body include:

• Fast heartrate.
• Tense muscles.
• ‘Knotted’ feeling in the stomach.
• Tiredness and lack of motivation.
• Jumpiness and being easily startled.

Behaviours include:

• Drinking more alcohol.
• Smoking more than usual.
• Having difficulty sleeping.
• Not wanting to go out or avoiding certain places.
• Constantly checking that other people are safe.

All of these can be associated with a difficult time in life and usually pass, but with PTSD they can persist for some time.

What helps?

There are many things that can help PTSD, such as:

• Talking therapies.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
• Mindfulness.
• Self-help such as relaxation, exercise, healthy lifestyle.
• Support groups.

Supporting somebody with PTSD

Seeing someone you care about experiencing PTSD can be hard and cause you a lot of worry, but offering your support and care can be important to the person’s recovery.

If the person wants your support some things you can do to are listed below:

• Listening: giving the person the opportunity to talk to you honestly and openly in their own time and at their own pace. Try to listen without passing judgement and try to avoid dismissing their feelings, even if you find it hard to understand.
• Learn about what can make PTSD worse, such as situations, conversations, people, noises, etc. Knowing this information can help you be more prepared for these situations in the future.
• Plan ahead and put things in place for if or when things are particularly challenging, such as how they would like support, knowing what signs to look out for that they may not be feeling as great.
• Be aware that someone with PTSD may find it claustrophobic to have someone around them all the time, and they may also struggle with personal space, as they can often be on edge following the trauma they’ve experienced.
• Help your friend or family member to find further support, such as a GP, therapy, groups for people living with PTSD.

Young People experiencing PTSD

Information for young people and their parents or carers about what it’s like for a young person to suffer with PTSD, help that is available, the best support, and things that can help.

PTSD is the name given to a set of experiences that can occur after someone has been exposed to or experienced a traumatic event. Just like adults, children and young people can be involved in or witness frightening, dangerous or threatening events, such as crime or a road accident. These events might be a single incident or might be experienced by the young person several times over months or years. Being witness to such incidents can then lead to the person experiencing PTSD.

How PTSD might be experienced

Following a traumatic experience, it is normal that a young person would feel a range of emotions, including anxiety, sadness, fear, and grief; usually these feelings would begin to reduce after a few weeks. As all young people are different, it is difficult to know exactly how each young person might react to a traumatic experience. This might depend on the age and the ability of the child to understand and process the event, as well as the type of trauma experienced.

If the upsetting and confusing thoughts and feelings about the incident go on for more than a few weeks and impact on the young person’s quality of life and general ability to function, they may be experiencing PTSD.

Some signs you might notice are:

• Re-enacting the trauma through play.
• New worries and fears.
• Extreme emotions.
• Appearing withdrawn.
• Unable to concentrate.
• More angry and aggressive.
• Difficulty sleeping or having nightmares.
• Fear of being alone or clingy.
• Experiencing distressing memories and thoughts about the trauma.
• Experiencing ‘flashbacks’ or re-experiencing the event in their mind.
• Feelings of guilt and blame.
• Fears about the future.
• Behaving recklessly or impulsively.
• Avoiding places or people that remind them of the traumatic event.
• Start bedwetting and thumb-sucking again.
• Being irritable and disobedient.
• Complaining of physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches.

Cause

Any traumatic event that a young person is involved in, where they felt terror or thought that their life or someone else’s life was in danger, could be result in the long-lasting effects that are known as PTSD.

These events might include:

• Serious road traffic accident.
• Witnessing violence or death.
• Violent attacks.
• A major disaster.
• War.
• Being witness to or experiencing physical, emotional or sexual abuse or sexual assault.
• Terrorist attack.
• Witnessing domestic violence.

What can I do?

Your support, reassurance and understanding are very important during this time. Sometimes other family members, such as siblings, may also need support, as they may also have experienced the same traumatic event.

After a traumatic event it is normal that a young person will be distressed, upset, worried or anxious.  It can be helpful to let your child talk about the event, if they want to, as this can help them to process the event and make sense of what has happened. Sometimes it can be difficult for young people to find the words to describe their feelings, so encouraging them to draw or write things down can be a helpful way to enable them to express their emotions.

Maintaining routine and structure following a traumatic incident or event will help your child to feel a sense of control and normality. Avoid making sudden or drastic changes to home and school-life, as this could cause your child further stress and anxiety.

It may be useful for teachers and other people involved in your child’s care and day-to-day life, to be made aware of your child’s experience of trauma, so that they can offer support and will be aware of any changes in your child’s behaviour.

Support in school

This page is for teachers, support staff, young people and parents or carers about the support schools can offer to pupils who are struggling with PTSD.

Following a traumatic incident, it’s important that a young person who has experienced the trauma has a sense of stability, and that their feelings are acknowledged and validated. 

Support is particularly important during the first 24 to 48 hours immediately after the incident, as well as during the 2 weeks following the event.

Suggestions

Below are some suggestions in order for you to provide support to the young person in the classroom and school:

• Help the child to feel safe in the classroom.
• Minimise stress where possible.
• Allow a card or a signal system that the child can use to access some ‘quiet time’, without having to speak in front of the class.
• Maintain classroom routine and structure.
• Try to identify any triggers in the school environment, such as loud noises, comments from others, changes in routine.
• Identify teachers who the child can talk to for support.
• Work with parents or carers to develop a support plan within the school environment.
• Ensure appropriate staff are aware of the trauma and can support the young person.
• Work to maintain a positive relationship with the young person.
• Prepare them for transitions or changes in routine.