-
Our patients often report the following complaints, among others:
- Repeated, mental and emotional reliving of the experience through intrusive memories or dreams
- Avoidance of stimuli or situations that may be reminiscent of the trauma
- Suppression of dream-related thoughts or memories
- Feeling numb
- Affected people often appear indifferent and indifferent to other people and their environment
- Difficulty feeling joy
- Avoiding activities or situations that may be reminiscent of the trauma
- sleep disorders
- Excessive jumpiness
- Difficulty concentrating or sleeping
- Persistent negative assumptions about yourself or the world (e.g. reproach, fear, and discouragement)
-
When people have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, they must be offered treatment. According to the German-language guidelines for treating the disorder, psychotherapy is the method of choice. The treatment costs are covered by the health insurance companies. In a large number of studies, psychotherapeutic offers for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (trauma therapy) have now been developed and checked, which can successfully support affected children and adolescents in reducing stress and thus restoring their quality of life. With early targeted treatment, the development of other disorders such as depression, eating disorders, or substance addiction later in life can be prevented. For this reason, we recommend that anyone who feels this way seek professional help.
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Project partners
Consequences of abuse and neglect
Sexual or physical abuse as well as physical or psychological neglect are often very traumatic experiences for children and adolescents.
It is therefore normal for children or adolescents to react with immediate psychological stress symptoms. First of all, this includes the feeling of “numbness”. This means that the child or adolescent is not paying much attention and can appear disoriented. Sometimes those affected withdraw from their environment during this phase and are very restless or overly active. However, these first signs usually subside a few days after the traumatic experience. In some cases, especially in the case of particularly intense, long-lasting or catastrophic experiences, this first acute reaction to the experience leads to a longer-lasting stress reaction.
This long-term stress response is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). How exactly the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder look like, however, also depends on personal factors and can therefore express themselves in different ways. This phase can last for several weeks or months and, in particularly severe cases, the disease can become chronic.