Post-traumatic stress disorder, usually associated with combat or natural disasters, is marked by troubling nightmares, depression, reliving the ordeal in your mind and avoiding situations or people that remind you of the trauma. Hyman fears that things will be even worse now, as the new school year begins and educators are more anxious than ever about violence after the previous year's shootings in Colorado, Georgia and elsewhere. Schools are more likely to react with increased security and discipline rather than more mental health counselors for kids. What they don't realize, Hyman says, is that emotional mistreatment of students can contribute to the problem of violence in the first place by making the kids feel rejected and isolated. That usually takes the form of intimidation, ignoring students, being overly critical, verbal assaults like sarcasm and name-calling and failing to intervene when kids are teased or bullied by their peers.
Child has nightmares or other sleep disturbances.
Child is aggressive, hostile or makes threats. Child avoids school, teachers or anything related to the trauma. Child has repeated unwanted thoughts about an event. Child has health problems like headaches or stomachaches that seem to be stress-related. Child seems depressed or has lost interest in activities he once enjoyed.