What are the warning signs of traumatic stress in older elementary and middle school students?

In older elementary and middle school students post traumatic stress can come about in a variety of ways. We commonly see a person retelling a story over and over again or having tunnel vision or confused thinking. We also see fatigue, insomnia. Other symptoms can be manifested in physical ways such as stomach-ache, such as people saying; “I feel knots in my stomach”. The big warnings signs are, after a period of time anything that they are feeling doesn’t go away. That is a big teller and we want to decrease that and we don’t want someone to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. So anything that that person is feeling whether it be a headache, whether it be butterflies in their stomach, it’s important to tell a person this should not last, and if it’s lasting after six weeks then they need long term mental health care.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…