Raising Bright Children in a Scary World (continued)

1. Nightmares, which may lead to insomnia
2. Flashbacks—suddenly acting or feeling that you are back in the traumatic situation
3. Feeling numb or fl ooded with feelings
4. Becoming panicked when faced with “triggers”—sights, sounds, or smells that are reminders of the trauma
5. Exaggerated “startle response”—being jumpy and easily startled
6. Feeling detached or distant from others, withdrawing
7. “Hypervigilance”—being on guard or scanning the environment for danger
8. Difficulty concentrating
9. Irritability or explosive anger
10. Avoiding people or situations that are reminders of the trauma
11. Losing interest in activities that used to be fun
12. Thoughts about the trauma that intrude when you are trying to concentrate on something else
13. Being unable to think about the future or acting as if there is no future
14. Feeling guilty for your actions during the trauma or because you survived when others did not
15. Sadness, grief, or depression about what happened.

The degree of reaction depends on a number of factors including the duration and severity of the trauma, the strength of our support systems, and whether we have experienced other past traumas that may be re-activated by the current event. It also matters whether it was a natural or human-caused disaster. Generally human-caused traumas are worse, especially if they were caused by someone we thought we could trust.

Two months after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, a full 17 % of the adult population in the United States experienced enough symptoms to be diagnosed with PTSD, whether or not they were anywhere near New York City at the time. Over the next two years, there was a 49% increase in the number of suicide attempts in the U.S. due to the chronic stress we experienced as a nation. Five years later in 2006, a National Mental Health Association study found that 50% of all Americans and 65% of all parents in the U.S. remain fearful about the threat of terrorism. Obviously even we adults are very affected by traumatic events, both individually and collectively as a society.

Most intriguing, however, is the fact that the majority of adults (and children) who experience a trauma do not develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This concept has been labeled “resilience.” In their book Promoting Student Resiliency, Kris Bosworth and Garry Walz defined resilience as “the ability to succeed in the face of adversity… the process of self-righting and growth… the capacity to meet challenges and become more capable as a result of those experiences.” Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein in Raising Resilient Children further describe it as “the inner strength to deal competently and successfully, day after day, with the challenges and demands [encountered]…. Resilience embraces the ability…to deal more effectively with stress and pressure, to cope with everyday challenges, to bounce back from disappointments, adversity, and trauma, to develop clear and realistic goals, to solve problems, to relate comfortably with others, and to treat oneself and others with respect.” In other words, it is more than just survival. It is the ability to learn, grow, and become a better person as a result of the trauma, to somehow use this painful experience for good in the long run.

The Impact of Traumatic Events on Children

Of course, we have to start by differentiating between children who are victimized by or directly witness traumatic events and those who just experience them through the media. There is a continuum to the risk of problems based on the amount of exposure, but even children not living in a community where violence or another trauma occurs are affected. Degree of impact also depends on the child’s age and developmental level, temperament, awareness, and general sensitivity to outside events.

Adults and children alike are probably more affected by traumatic events today than they were a generation ago. With internet and satellite TV coverage of news events, information is more immediate and coverage more graphic. The Persian Gulf War in 1991 was the first to have battle scenes broadcast instantaneously around the world and then replayed twentyfour hours a day. Young children watching these news reports cannot cognitively differentiate between something happening halfway around the world and something posing an immediate danger to them and their family.

According to Lorna Knox, in her 2004 book, Scary News, we are bombarded constantly with more and more information than we were even ten or twenty years ago. The end result is that news events feel more personal and evoke emotions at a faster pace than ever before. This may be a contributing factor to the increased rates of depression in children and adolescents in recent years.

Lastly, numerous studies show that children who are exposed to too much violence at an early age can become desensitized to it. That is, they become numb to it and it no longer seems like a big deal to them. This can happen whether the violence is in the home, in the neighborhood and school, or with violent TV and video games. We would do well as parents to pay close attention to monitoring what our children are exposed to.

Are Gifted Children More Susceptible?

Research is limited in this area, but it stands to reason that many, if not most, gifted children may worry more because they are more aware than others of the world around them. They may intellectually understand all of the possibilities and implications of a situation they see or hear on the news and yet not be at a developmental stage where they are ready to cope with the information emotionally. Our kids may seem mature enough to handle certain situations because they can reason as if they were older. Don’t let that fool you. They still need us as adults to protect them from situations they are not emotionally ready to handle.

Two other factors come into play here. First, according to Lesley Sword in “Parenting Emotionally Intense Gifted Children,” gifted children often have a heightened sensitivity and are more intense emotionally than other kids. This is part of their giftedness and a wonderful asset, but it can also be anxiety-provoking and painful for the child (and frustrating for the parent!) They can be much more affected emotionally by the events around them.