Helping Teens Break Free from Trauma Bonds Teenagers and children of all ages need healthy attachments to their caregivers to develop healthy emotions. Trauma can impact these attachments, making it harder for teens to develop properly. Although it’s often more common with adults who suffer abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, trauma bonding can occur in teens as well. If you’re trying to help a teenager in your life deal with their own personal trauma, it’s crucial to understand trauma bonding, its symptoms, and how to provide support. We’ve already discussed how trauma bonds develop ..read more

Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs – Recognizing Psychological Trauma in Teenagers and How to Help Them Psychological trauma is a widespread issue that affects millions of people around the globe, but today we will discuss how it is affecting our most vulnerable population – our teens. More than two-thirds of children reported at least 1 traumatic event by age 16.  ~ SAMHSA The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress estimates that 70% of the world’s population has had a traumatic life event. While not all of those people will develop psychological trauma symptoms, many will. Psychological t ..read more

Understanding Teen Trauma: Identifying Signs and Seeking Help for Your Child Trauma is on the rise among teenagers. As many as 43% of young people have experienced at least one traumatic event. After suffering trauma, regardless of the cause, children have an increased risk for panic disorders, anxiety, and depression. The ongoing effects of trauma on adolescents can lead to eating disorders, behavioral issues, and problems developing healthy relationships. Some teens with traumatic experiences will develop PTSD, a more severe form of trauma that impacts daily life. Trauma is not something t ..read more

Is Your Parenting Style Causing Your Teen's Emotional Trauma? The past is in the past, but the effects of your past actually impact you today. For most adults, the past affects their parenting style. If you have unresolved trauma, you could be inflicting trauma on your teenager without even realizing it. Here’s a closer look at how your own childhood trauma is likely affecting your parenting style and what you can do to improve the situation. What Is Unresolved Trauma? Definition of Unresolved Trauma Unresolved trauma refers to a type of emotional or psychological trauma that has not been f ..read more

How Abandonment Trauma Affects Children and Teens Emotional Well-being Children are born needing the help and love of their parents. An infant cannot meet any needs for itself and thus relies entirely on its caregiver for daily life needs. This need hardwires the brain to look for attachment and emotional connection. When a parent meets a baby’s needs, the baby develops healthy attachments. As the baby grows, those healthy attachments teach the child how to create healthy, long-lasting relationships. When something disrupts that healthy attachment, the child suffers not only physically but a ..read more

Understanding Obsessive Love Disorder and Attachment Issues People are hard-wired to want and need love. Children require supportive and caring parents to grow into healthy, balanced adults. When that love is not given in childhood, trauma occurs. Sometimes, that trauma can lead to a serious mental health disorder called obsessive love disorder. Obsessive love disorder, or OLD, is a mental health condition that shows up with an obsessive desire to possess another person or maintain a relationship. People with this condition can’t accept rejection and often develop unhealthy relationships. He ..read more

Trauma and Kids – How Stress and PTSD Affect Young People, and What Parents Can Do In 2021, the Surgeon General issued an advisory about youth and their mental health. In the advisory, the government warned that an increasing number of children and adolescents were struggling with mental health concerns. The fact that the mental health of young people has reached a point where the Surgeon General has to get involved shows that we are, in fact, dealing with a serious concern. Here is a closer look at trauma, PTSD and children, with tools parents can use to help their children cope with traumati ..read more

Trauma is more common in children and teens than many adults may think. In one study, over 80% of teens surveyed indicated they had experienced at least one traumatic event in their childhood. The majority of those who had behavioral symptoms during the study also had trauma in their past. The American Psychological Association estimates that 2/3 of today’s youth have suffered trauma. Yet, in spite of the prevalence of trauma, many teens do not get professional help or learn to process their traumatic events well. Yet what does this mean as a teenager transition from youth to adulthood? Sadl ..read more

Familial Trafficking: The Trauma of Being Sexually Trafficked by a Family Member It is no secret that sexual trafficking cases are on the rise. For many of the victims, people they don’t know exploit them for some gain. However, imagine if you were a child and the people in your own family—the people you trust the most—are the people responsible for exploitation. Unfortunately, familial human trafficking of children is more common than most people know.  What Is Familial Trafficking? Human trafficking usually evokes an image of a stolen or kidnaped child that is being forced into exploit ..read more

Trauma Bonding 101: Signs, Symptoms and Treatment If your teenager is stuck in an abusive relationship, whether with a romantic interest, a close friend or even a parent, they may find themselves in the midst of a trauma bond. Trauma bonds are common in abuse situations. They can be a way that emotional abusers can keep their abuse victims in their grip, even after the abuse is identified and discovered. Sadly, the cycles of abuse are very hard to break, but it does start with identifying both abuse and the trauma bond that can occur. What Is Trauma Bonding? Trauma bonds are an attachment that ..read more