Trauma and Mental Health

Last night we took a class about Childrens’ Mental Health. It was a very interesting three-hour class covering all the mental health issues likely to be paired with trauma. I only took 7 pages of notes! We all know about Fight or Flight instincts, but there’s a Freeze instinct too. In short; trauma causes these instincts to always be activated, so those tiny bodies are trying to deal with all the extra hormones and adrenaline that come with Fight, Flight, or Freeze reactions. There are a lot of anxiety, manic and depressive disorders that go hand in hand with trauma.

 The most interesting thing we got out of the class is the importance of asking the right questions. Instead of asking yourself “WHY is this child behaving like this?” it’s more important to ask “WHAT HAS HAPPENED to this child that makes them behave like this?”.

All behaviors have a purpose:
1) To gain control
2) to get attention
3) to get revenge
4) proving inadequacy

It was emphasized in the class that it’s not about us as foster parents. It’s about the child and their lack of ability to communicate with you and/or trust adults in general. Most behaviors are a way to cover or hide pain and vulnerability. Really, it’s all just having the empathy and understanding to look at the world through their lenses of distrust and trauma.

Here is a video created by an adult looking through her eyes at her foster experience (it ends well)