When an event or an accumulation of events cause extreme stress that overwhelms a person's ability to cope, you have trauma. There are many layers to trauma but below are some of the main types we see in our students, families, and school/community professionals.
The first type, we like to call "Big T" trauma, can be the result of first hand experiences of high stress and are usually centered around a threat to one’s life or bodily injury. Examples are: being in a car accident, natural disaster, or being the victim of an assault.
The “little t” trauma is a result of being exposed to events that leave us feeling hopeless. Events do not have to be directly experienced. Examples include; divorce, sudden move, homelessness, watching violent/tragic news events, graphic images from media such as news, video games, videos, and movies.
Secondary Trauma happens usually to caregivers or others who hear about the first hand trauma of others. It can be called compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma. Click here for more
The first thing WE can do to help our children is to lessen the exposure to the never ending images and descriptions.
Below are a list of resources to help: