Note: There's so little written on this topic. This piece by Jennifer L. Price, PhD is one of the few that talks about the impact on kids when a parent (or parents) have PTSD. It's good to understand our impact on our children. It's nice that veterans with PTSD are not the only parents being discussed. However, this shows that the prevailing idea of PTSD-suffering is often mischaracterized or misunderstood. For those parenting with ACes, it's not so much that trauma is some single, horrific event that we are constantly re-experiencing. It's may be the case or it may be that as well as the way we learned to endure, live with and cope with routine adversity or neglect that makes us less able to soothe ourselves and connect with our children in the present. To me, understanding that neglect and dysfunction to a child, is traumatic, is important and it's important to understanding the most challenging parts of parenting with a trauma history. It's not that nightmares and flashbacks and re-experiencing aren't a piece of PTSD for many parents, it's just that it's not the biggest, most problematic or relevant symptom for many of us in terms of how we show up (or don't show up) to parent. To better help our kids (and us) we need to better understand how parents experience PTSD. I'm glad Parenting with ACEs lets us help communicate and educate each other as well as ourselves and others.
Introduction
Researchers have examined the impact of Veterans' PTSD symptoms on family relationships, and on children of Veterans in particular. Understanding how these symptoms affect relationships can help families and children of Veterans cope with difficulties, should they arise. Although much of the research described here has been conducted with children of Vietnam Veterans, findings from this body of research may generalize to children of Veterans from other eras as well as non-Veterans with PTSD.
How might a Veteran's PTSD symptoms affect his or her children?
Re-experiencing symptoms
Individuals who have PTSD often "re-experience"' traumatic events through vivid daytime memories or dreams. Re-experiencing can occur suddenly and without intention, and it is typically accompanied by intense emotions, such as grief, guilt, fear, or anger. Sometimes these intrusions can be so strong or vivid that the individual believes the trauma is reoccurring.
These symptoms can be frightening not only for the individual experiencing them but also for children who witness them. Children may not understand what is happening or why, and they may start to worry about their parent's well-being. Children may also worry that their parent cannot properly care for them.
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