Life is a long road that’s constantly changing and throwing roadblocks along the way. There are common challenges that can impact your teen. For example, they could lose a close friendship or have to repeat a class. More intense concerns, such as experiencing a traumatic event, can also have a lasting impact.

If you have a teen, you might think that most challenges they face are “expected” for their age to help them grow as a person. You likely went through similar situations at their age. But there are some challenges they may face that shouldn’t be brushed off as “typical,” such as trauma. 

Taking precautions to prevent trauma for your teen, or minimize its impact before it leads to severe conditions, can be beneficial. You can help teach them coping skills to foster resilience, educate them on the effects of trauma, and strengthen your family communication by encouraging open and honest conversations.

While trauma can impact the emotional, mental and physical health of people at any age, it’s important to learn how trauma in adolescence can affect your teen.

How your teen can be impacted by trauma in their adolescence

People can experience a wide variety of trauma. There are one-time scary or life-threatening traumatic events, such as being in a car crash or a bystander during a violent crime. These events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There’s also prolonged or recurrent trauma, such as abuse or witnessing domestic violence. Ongoing or repeated trauma can potentially lead to complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

When it comes to having a teen who has experienced trauma, it can be difficult to understand how they’re thinking and feeling. Being there for support is one of the most important things you can do for them. However, you should also try to understand how a teen can be affected by trauma, so that you know when they may require further mental health treatment. 

When a teen experiences trauma in adolescence, it can result in:

• Difficulty handling stress — It’s possible that a teen who has experienced trauma responds to difficult situations with irritability, anger and frustration, even if it doesn’t align with the problem. This is often due to feeling like they need control. They may feel like their “fight-or-flight” response has been triggered. For example, they could react in an extreme manner to a seemingly minor stressor, such as last-minute plan changes. They may also resort to risky behavior, such as reckless driving or substance use. 
• Overprotection of loved ones — It’s common for people who have experienced trauma to fear that it will occur again and affect someone close to them, leading them to be overprotective of their family members or friends in hopes that they can shield them from the same type of trauma. For example, if they were in a car accident, they may insist on walking instead of driving. If they were in an abusive relationship, they may assume that a friend’s new partner will hurt them. This sort of behavior may strain their relationships.
• Heightened anxiety — If a teen experiences trauma, they may develop overwhelming anxiety that makes it difficult to carry out their everyday functions, such as completing their schoolwork and doing chores. The anxiety that stems from trauma can cause a teen to overthink many choices and focus on the potential negative outcomes. They may also experience overwhelming anxiety if they have trouble managing triggers that remind them of their trauma.
• Trust issues — Trauma that involves a person close to your teen can make it difficult for them to feel comfortable putting their trust in other people. When your teen is questioning the intentions of people without getting to know them, it can interfere with their ability to build and maintain healthy friendships. They may assume that everyone has ulterior motives or hurtful intentions, which can make it difficult for them to build a support system.
• Pessimistic outlook on the future — Trauma can make a teen focus on all the potential negativity and dangers in the world because they’ve experienced some of it. If your teen experiences trauma in their adolescent years, they may assume that things like that will continue to happen as they grow older, making it difficult for them to set goals and work toward a fulfilling future.

Some of these effects are symptoms of PTSD and complex PTSD, while others may just be a teen’s own response to trauma without a diagnosable mental health condition. Even if they don’t fit the criteria of a disorder, they may still benefit from treatment, such as a support group or outpatient therapy. 

If you’re concerned about the severity or duration of your teen’s traumatic response, be sure to talk to their doctor about your concerns. They can point you in the right direction for potential treatment or mental health condition diagnosis.

Lightfully Teen can help address and reduce the impact of trauma in adolescence

While you can’t always prevent trauma from affecting your teen during adolescence, you can help them through the effects. Sometimes that means lending an ear and creating a safe environment. Other times, it means finding them further support, such as a free online support group or an Intensive Outpatient Program through Lightfully Teen.

Everything we do consists of evidence-based, clearly defined, data-driven and whole-person-centered care to help your teen work through the distress or disorder symptoms that come from trauma.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step toward helping your teen deal with the effects of trauma, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of your teen.