Trauma brings pervasive effects on all areas of life, both short-term and long-term. An adolescent crisis intervention program can help your teen overcome trauma and heal from its effects in areas like family relationships, friends, academics, and self-esteem.
Imagine Boise is a teen treatment center that works to empower teen clients by giving them the tools they need to overcome trauma and other mental and emotional health concerns. Contact us today at 888.597.2807 to learn more about the teen trauma treatment program at Imagine Boise.
What Is Teen Trauma?
Trauma is an emotional reaction to a scary or dangerous event. Trauma can be experienced after a major incident, like a car accident or sexual assault. Still, it can also be experienced as a reaction to situations like school bullying or an emotionally unsafe home environment.
Teens who develop trauma may feel unable to cope with the event and the accompanying feelings. Trauma is often characterized by signs like:
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Panic attacks
- Physical pain
- Depression or anxiety
- Social isolation
- Constantly feeling frightened or on guard
Trauma doesn’t just have an impact on immediate well-being; it can also have an effect on a wide range of other areas, like academic performance. One of the areas most often impacted dramatically by trauma is relationships.
How Does Trauma Affect Relationships?
Trauma and relationships are deeply interconnected. A teen impacted by trauma may have difficulty forming or maintaining relationships. Relationship skills often rest on an individual’s ability to feel safe and at ease with others.
When a teen is struggling with trauma, they may have a hard time letting down their guard and trusting others. It’s also common for teen trauma survivors to feel a sense of distance between themselves and others. Traumatic events can cause a teen to feel that no one else understands what they’ve gone through and how it has impacted them.
Trauma can have a profound impact on a teen’s sense of reality. The result may be that the teen feels cut off, isolated, and unable to form or hold on to a meaningful connection with their friends and family members.
Untreated trauma brings serious repercussions for a teen’s long-term well-being. When a trauma survivor doesn’t get the help they need, they’re more likely to experience difficulties with trauma and relationships throughout life, especially with significant others, family members, and friends.
Signs that Trauma Is Impacting a Teen’s Relationships
If you’re wondering, “How does trauma affect relationships?” you may be dealing with the signs of untreated teen trauma at home.
A teen can go through a traumatizing experience and come out the other side without experiencing a significant impact on their mental and emotional health. However, it’s very common for a teen to need professional help after a traumatic experience.
If your teen is showing these behaviors at home, it’s time to consider getting them professional help that can help them heal and thrive.
Signs that indicate relationships and trauma are a concern for your teen include:
- Isolation
- Altered social activities
- Loss of interest in former hobbies
- Desire to stay home from school
- Loss of friendships
- Withdrawal from family
- Substance use
Teenagers who begin showing noticeable unhealthy changes in social activities and behaviors may be struggling to maintain healthy relationships because of the effects of trauma.
Get Help for Teen Trauma and Relationships at Imagine Boise
Trauma rarely resolves on its own. The best way a parent can help a teen overcome trauma is to connect them to a teen intervention program that offers tools for healing.
Imagine Boise is an outpatient mental and behavioral health treatment center. We strive to provide every teen patient with the insight and coping skills they need to overcome the effects of trauma.
Call us today at 888.597.2807 or fill out our online form to learn more about getting help for relationships and trauma for your teen at Imagine Boise.