Recognizing traumatic stress early is critical in decreasing the long-term adverse effects it may have. Trauma is an emotional response resulting from exposure to a single or recurring emotionally, physically, or physiologically threatening situation with lasting detrimental effects on the person’s functioning. However, it’s important to understand the difference between trauma and stress. Stress is present in trauma; however not every stressful situation is traumatic. In addition, trauma is also different from an adverse life experience. The key in differentiating stress from trauma is evaluating how it was experienced and what symptoms resulted from that experience.
Many factors come into play when evaluating whether or not an adverse life experience was traumatic for a child, including the way adults model handling stress and the tools the child has to cope. A common analogy used to describe the difference between stress and trauma is a mosquito bite or a bee sting. A bee sting may not be inherently traumatic to the average child. It will certainly hurt in the moment; however, the pain will pass, and it will eventually be forgotten. Yet, if the child is conditioned to fear bees, or perhaps has an allergic reaction and epinephrine is not on hand, the same situation is more intense and damaging, and as a result, would not be so easily forgotten. Signs of trauma include “avoiding stimuli associated with the trauma experience, increased reactivity, and re-experiencing the fear of trauma at different points after the event.” We end up with a diagnosis of trauma when these post-traumatic symptoms interfere with a child’s functioning.
