I was interviewed by Kimberly Bond from the London Metro regarding children who experience trauma during war. I have added the txt below, however Kimberley mentions me as a psychologist (which I am not), I am a trauma specialist.
Sonya Sazonova may be far away from the constant sounds of explosions, screaming and gunfire that has become the grim norm over in Ukraine, but mentally, the 16-year-old still feels that sickening jolt of fear when she thinks of her homeland – and her loved ones who are still there.
‘It is a long and difficult process,’ the 16-year-old tells Metro.co.uk, as her mother, Tanya, serves as translator. ‘I think I am still adjusting. And it’s only physically that we’re not in Ukraine. We check the news daily. It is difficult as we don’t know how long we will be here, what will happen in the future.’
Sonya and Tanya are among the 5.2 million refugees who were forced to flee Ukraine after Russia invaded the country unexpectedly in February this year.
As lives were uprooted and torn apart in the brutality of warfare, some 104,000 people chose to resettle in the UK in a desperate bid to seek sanctuary as missiles and bombs rained down upon their homes.
While the horror, fear and displacement of war (particularly a conflict that no one thought could ever really happen) is exceedingly difficult to comprehend at any age, it can be especially traumatising on young people, who have had to leave behind almost everything they’ve ever known for a new, alien country.
The sudden and huge upheaval for children, particularly from such horrific conditions, can be hard for them to verbalise, explains Rachel Fairhurst, a psychologist and specialist in trauma and PTSD.
‘When a child or teenager is exposed to ongoing traumatic events, such as a war, it results in complex trauma,’ she explains. ‘Psychological and pathological changes occur to accommodate and assimilate their experience. Changes will occur on almost every level: emotionally, physically and psychologically.
‘Children may not necessarily have access to the language framework to make cognitive sense of what’s going on, which means the trauma is stored in the body. There’s a physiological explanation of this: blood flow is directed to the right frontal lobe of the brain when a trauma response is activated. This is where strong emotions such as shame, range, guilt and fear are processed.
Children will have a high physical and emotional sense of this trauma, but they will not have the ability to put a cognitive framework around it. It results in lots of feelings of intensity.’
A child’s inability to comprehend the gravity of the situation they find themselves placed in, can often lead to difficulties adjusting to new environments.
‘If children are traumatised, they’re always on a high alert,’ Rachel continues. ‘They may find it very hard to engage in the classroom, maintain stable relationships, they could have trust issues.
‘It may get to a point where a child just struggles to feel safe, and may fail to make connections with those around them.’
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