It is estimated that 15 to 43% of girls and 14 to 43% of boys have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Of those children and adolescents who have experienced a traumatic event in their lives, 3 to 15% of girls and 1 to 6% of boys could be diagnosed with PTSD.
Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have found a decrease in the size of the hippocampus in children with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which causes them to be less able to handle stress and caused increased anxiety. They have also found higher levels of cortisol (stress hormone) in these children’s brains. Cortisol has detrimental effects on the hippocampus because studies on animals have shown that they have the ability to kill brain cells and lead to increased levels of anxiety. The ability to handle stress is important for these children because their lives are filled with stressors like violence at home and physical/emotional abuse. Living at home with these types of stressors is unbearable but imagine the stress that the children are experiencing if they have a defect in the system that helps you cope with the stress.
One of the main researchers in this study was quoted saying “One common treatment for PTSD is to help a sufferer develop a narrative of a traumatic experience. But if the stress of the event is affecting areas of the brain responsible for processing information and incorporating it into a story, that treatment may not be effective.” I wonder if other types of therapy like play therapy would help these children because it entails that children draw and play games to process the traumatic event they experienced. Would medication help these children deal with their PTSD?
Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have found a decrease in the size of the hippocampus in children with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which causes them to be less able to handle stress and caused increased anxiety. They have also found higher levels of cortisol (stress hormone) in these children’s brains. Cortisol has detrimental effects on the hippocampus because studies on animals have shown that they have the ability to kill brain cells and lead to increased levels of anxiety. The ability to handle stress is important for these children because their lives are filled with stressors like violence at home and physical/emotional abuse. Living at home with these types of stressors is unbearable but imagine the stress that the children are experiencing if they have a defect in the system that helps you cope with the stress.
One of the main researchers in this study was quoted saying “One common treatment for PTSD is to help a sufferer develop a narrative of a traumatic experience. But if the stress of the event is affecting areas of the brain responsible for processing information and incorporating it into a story, that treatment may not be effective.” I wonder if other types of therapy like play therapy would help these children because it entails that children draw and play games to process the traumatic event they experienced. Would medication help these children deal with their PTSD?
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