Whatshot
Unrest In SA - Children Vulnerable To Post-Traumatic Stress
Unrest In SA - Children Vulnerable To Post-Traumatic Stress
Date: 2021-07-13
The continuous civil unrest, looting and violence gripping parts of our country could see a spike in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst children, even those not directly impacted, warns the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP).
Dr Anusha Lachman, child psychiatrist and SASOP board member, said children are highly susceptible to fear and feeling overwhelmed as they witness the unsettling current events via social media and the news, and through adult conversations.
She says parents and care-givers play the most crucial role in assisting children to deal with the current uncertainty and they need to recognise that children simply hearing about the violence, and observing adults responses to the situation, can cause child a child to become more anxious and traumatized.
Feeling out of control - There is ongoing trauma, fear and helplessness across the country. Parents are traumatised by what is happening and largely are helpless onlookers to the destruction and violence. The trouble is that amidst the sense of helplessness, people look for ways to be more in control. One of the ways is to doom scroll, seeking to constantly be informed, sharing videos, voice notes, photos etc, anything that is recording and keeping track of the ongoing unrest, says Dr Lachman.
However, these constant reminders can re-traumatise parents and instead of feeling more in control by being informed, it reinforces their sense of a lack of control because they are unable to act. Not being able to prevent and to witness people getting away with the destruction becomes more traumatising. Many parents and grandparents recall the same kind of helplessness and fears leading up to the 1994 unrest and curfews in KZN, as well as fears of civil unrest around the first democratic elections. Witnessing the current riots and looting could result in flashbacks and re-experiences for many adults.
Dr Lachman says the challenge for parents is how to remain vigilant without re-traumatising themselves Ð and thereby exposing their children to trauma.
Adults can limit exposure to news, social media updates and WhatsApp messages doing the rounds and, importantly, recognise the role they play in their children's lives. As the caregivers they are meant to buffer and scaffold children and adolescents Ð filtering news and supporting children to prevent further traumatisation. This is challenging if parents are themselves traumatised, however there needs to be an awareness that children need to be restricted from controllable exposures such as the news and social media.
While they cannot be protected or prevented from witnessing things in the environment, they can be prevented from hearing about it or seeing it on other platforms. As many parents continue to talk, share and express distress about that which is out of their control, there still must be an active attempt to prevent children from unnecessarily being traumatised.

