Over the last several weeks, we’ve explored what trauma and secondary trauma/compassion fatigue can do to your brain and how it can affect the ability to process or interact with others. Now let’s talk about the signs and symptoms we can look out for that may give some explanation to behaviors we see in the class.
It is essential to remember that trauma in schools comes from both sides of the classroom. But often it easiest for us to think of the student first, the young person who comes in the class who we know has suffered intense traumatic experiences, and we witness the triggered behaviors in our day to day work. However trauma responses can appear in many ways: a history of trauma or toxic stress may be present in the lives of your quiet and disengaged student, your fidgety and disruptive student, even your people-pleasing engaged student who is easy to be around. If we remember that all behavior serves a purpose, and trauma threatens our safety and security, each of these students we are describing above could be enacting behaviors that are meant to keep them safe and secure. In many circumstances, experiencing trauma can result in behaviors like:
As you read this list, you may realize that these behaviors and symptoms sound like a lot of students in your classroom. Maybe even in a lot of adults you know! This is not to say that every person you know showing any of these symptoms has experienced trauma. These symptoms can also explain struggles with Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, and other mood disorders. These symptoms can also be a normal and learned reaction to the changes in life through things like puberty and hormone fluctuations, grief and loss, or just having a bad day.
The important part to remember is that no matter the reason for the symptoms – every brain, every body, is in need of safety and security. Your reaction to the child showing these behaviors as a symptom of ADHD and the child showing the same behaviors as a symptom of trauma, should be both focused on building/maintaining safety and security first.
Over the last several weeks, we’ve explored what trauma and secondary trauma/compassion fatigue can do to your brain and how it can affect the ability to process or interact with others. Now let’s talk about the signs and symptoms we can look out for that may give some explanation to behaviors we see in the class.
What about on the other side of the class, the teacher. What do symptoms of secondary trauma or compassion fatigue tend to look like? Remember secondary trauma, also called compassion fatigue, is the effects of experiencing someone else’s trauma vicariously and the burnout of toxic stress. Signs of this could include:
Again, these symptoms could be signs of Trauma or Secondary Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, or ADHD. These could also be symptoms of a medical issue, body changes, or just temporary learned reactions to a really terrible day. Having some of these symptoms does not mean that your brain is responding to secondary trauma. But the frequency, the amount, and the way these symptoms affect you matters. Your brain and your body also need safety and security; just like your students. If you are in a state of compassion fatigue you will not be able to maintain the unconditional positive regard your students need without getting the care you need for yourself first.
Learning how to observe and understand the symptoms of underlying mental health needs, for ourselves and for our students, is a big task. Diagnosing for behavioral and mental health needs should be left to healthcare professionals; but understanding what underlying needs can look like in the classroom can be a key component in feeling effective as a teacher.
Take a few moments this week to look at the Child Mind Institute webpage, the link is on the resources page of our website. There you can explore great short articles on what different underlying needs can look like in the classroom.
As you think about the symptoms you are reading about and what you notice in your students, please remember to check in with yourself too. Are you showing any signs of burnout? Are you feeling fatigued in your work, in your life? Focus on your own safety & security, talk out what you’re experiencing with a trusted person, and remember to take care of you, part of our survival guide involves remembering to take care of you!