Trauma, Development, and Spirituality. Social Sciences Essay

Trauma, Development, and Spirituality
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Trauma, Development, and Spirituality
Trauma can simply be defined as exposure to violence. This violence could be a serious injury, death, sexual assault, bullying, terrorism, neglect, child maltreatment, etc. All the above fit in the definition provided. Exposure could mean two things; being a witness to violence or being a victim of violent behavior. When children are exposed to trauma that is not only chronic but also intentional and interpersonal, their chances of developing antisocial behaviors, falling into depression, as well as being diagnosed with PTSD are high (Bellis and Zisk, 2015). A child’s life could be ruined and one could be left with permanent scars to nurse. These scars are quite fragile and when poked, they easily unravel and out comes the pain, betrayal, and all the emotional deficiencies that people try to hide. These scars cannot be wished away and people find themselves fighting demons that continually thwart their belief in humanity. Protecting children from being exposed to trauma ought to be done with the knowledge that their futures are also greatly impacted. However, in spite of the obvious dangers of trauma to children, this article seeks to showcase that resilience in children, as well as spiritual development, could help counter the effects of trauma.
The known results or effects of trauma are that it distorts the image of the world and humanity for a child. If exposed to violence, a child grows up knowing that the world is not a haven. Some also grow up knowing that they are unequal or that they are to blame for what is happening or happened to them. Such thoughts impair development because even at an early age, a child could start distancing themselves from the rest of the world. The Child Welfare Information Gateway (2017) notes that “early life experiences shape the development of brain circuitry and help to determine the makeup of a person’s intelligence, emotions, and personality.” However, trauma interferes with this normal growth of a child, and the results are compromised emotional and behavioral development. It should be noted, however, that children differ in the way they respond to trauma. This is echoed by Brewer-Smyth and Koenig (2014) who note that “individual responses to traumatic stress vary widely.” Even children respond differently and one major determining factor is the protective, as well as the coping factors children, develop while dealing with trauma. These factors are crucial and help ensure that children are able to form a protective guard around them which makes it difficult for the traumatic events to impact their lives. The above factors are part of the idea of resilience. Regarding resilience, Wong et al. (2015) note that these factors can either be internal to the child (maybe come from the child’s wittine...