Sometimes thinking about times when bad things have happened can make us feel unsafe. Please think about how safe you feel before you read these pages. There are some helpful links at the bottom of this section if you feel you need help now. If you would like help to manage strong emotions and learn more about anxiety, sadness and angry feelings, there are some helpful videos created by young people for young people here.

KeepCool – King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk)

You can also call:
– The Samaritans
– Childline

Other things you can do might be to turn to someone you trust and you can talk to. If you need support from outside your family, think about talking to a teacher, or school nurse or someone else who makes you feel safe.

You can help yourself by thinking about a safety plan to keep yourself safe.Bad things can happen to all of us, and its never too late to do something about it, even if you’re feeling down. Helpful thoughts might include, taking one day at a time, and if you are feeling distressed, it may be time to ask for help or change something in your life.

Trauma can affect your mental health in lots of ways.

Experiencing difficult events is a part of life, and it’s normal to struggle with how you feel afterwards. Most of the time we will move on and feel better fairly quickly. However, when something really distressing happens that leaves us feeling terrified, helpless and unable to cope, it can have a significant, long-term effect on our emotional wellbeing. This is called trauma.

Trauma can be the result of a one-off event, a series of events, or an ongoing situation. You can experience trauma even if you weren’t directly involved in the event – for example, if you witness something bad happen.

There is an idea that for something to be traumatic, it has to be really extreme, like fighting in a war. But this isn’t the case.

Sometimes trauma can be a ‘small’ thing that has left a big impact on how you think, feel or act – even if for another person that thing might seem insignificant. For example, if a teacher called you ‘stupid’, that could be traumatic for you if, as a result, you start to struggle with negative feelings about yourself.

Trauma can also be the result of things that build up over time. For example, a family member constantly criticising you or saying mean things to you can amount to trauma.

Some common examples of trauma also include:

• being involved in or witnessing a bad accident
• experiencing abuse or neglect
• losing a loved one
• being the victim of a crime
• being bullied

You may experience trauma related to certain parts of your identity. For example, experiencing racism or other forms of discrimination can result in trauma.

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/coping-with-life/trauma/

How can trauma affect my mental health?

Everybody responds to trauma differently, and the way you feel may change over time. Immediately after a traumatic event, you might feel:

• shocked
• like the event didn’t really happen
• numb or unsure about how you’re feeling
• nothing at all

Sometimes, we may not realise at the time that what we’ve experienced is trauma, especially if we don’t feel much afterwards, or if it is one small event in a series of events – for example with bullying. Sometimes it can take a while before we feel the effects of a traumatic event. This can be confusing, but it is completely normal.

So, if something big or scary happens and you don’t react the way you might expect, it does not mean there is anything wrong with you. It’s important to remember there is no “right”  way to experience trauma. However you’re feeling is valid.

When we have experienced a trauma, it can impact our mental health in lots of ways. It can make us feel:

• anxious
• hypervigilant – where you feel alert all the time and extra sensitive to what’s happening around you, like noises, lights and movement
• angry about what happened
• sad about what happened
• worried that the same thing will happen again
• guilty
• bad about ourselves, as if we deserved it
• embarrassed or worried that people will judge us

Some types of trauma may change how we feel about ourselves, or how we relate to other people. For example, if we experience abuse, we may start to believe negative things that we are told about ourselves, or find it difficult to trust people, which can make us feel isolated, low or anxious.

Sometimes we may not even realise that there is a connection between a traumatic event and how we’re feeling now. But with help and support, we can start to figure out what is causing us to struggle with our mental health, and find ways for things to get better.

Sometimes experiencing a trauma or series of traumas can lead to us developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) happens after you experience something extremely frightening, like violence, abuse, rape or a life-threatening situation

It can also affect you if you witnessed something terrible happening, such as a serious accident.

Most people take time to get over a traumatic event, but with PTSD, you can’t move past the event and carry on having dreams, flashbacks or upsetting thoughts about it.

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is a more serious reaction to a long-lasting traumatic experience, for example abuse, neglect or frequent violence.

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/mental-health-conditions/ptsd/

What physical symptoms might I experience from trauma?

You might also start to notice some physical symptoms, such as:

• vivid dreams or nightmares
• sleep problems
• sudden, intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event or events
• difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly
• changes in appetite
• feeling disconnected from your body or emotions
• sudden changes in behaviour or mood

These can feel really scary, but they are normal responses to trauma. With support, people do recover and things can get better.

Useful Links

The Anxiety Workbook For Teens: Activities to Help You Deal With Anxiety & Worry: (Teen Instant Help) Paperback – 29 May 2008 by Lisa. M. Schab

Starving the Anxiety Gremlin: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Anxiety Management for Young People (Gremlin and Thief CBT Workbooks) Paperback – 28 Feb 2013 by Kate Collins-Donnelly

A 5 Is Against the Law! Social Boundaries: Straight Up! An honest guide for teens and young adults by Kari Dunn Buron intervention that identifies and explains how to handle different levels of anxiety, frustration, and anger

Self-help resource:
www.moodjuice.scot.nhs.uk/

Websites:
www.anxietycanada.com
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au
www.youngminds.org.uk/find-help/conditions/anxiety
www.traumainformedschools.co.uk
www.beaconhouse.org.uk/resources
www.headspace.com/meditation/kids