PTSD+-+Afghanistan

By: Melissa Garrison, Taylor Santa Cruz (LEADER) & Chelsea Skowronski
 * __Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children__**

** __PTSD Overview__: ** * Can cause extreme fear, helplessness & horror to an individual. __Symptoms__: ** * These symptoms can become better over time, or could potentially get worse, completely disrupting & ruining a person's life.
 * A medical diagnosis & type of anxiety disorder.
 * A person can develop PTSD by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.
 * Events such as:
 * War
 * Natural disasters
 * Violence (murder)
 * Life threatening sintuations
 * Rape
 * Losing a loved one or someone close
 * PTSD can make it difficult for someone to adjust or cope with change & new surroundings.
 * Upsetting thoughts about a horrifying event
 * Nightmares
 * Flashbacks
 * Depression
 * Avoiding any thoughts or conversations having to do with the event
 * Outbursts of anger
 * Distant from others
 * Jumpiness
 * Guilt
 * Suicidal thoughts & behavior


 * __ PTSD in Children __ : **
 * The rate of trauma exposure has been excalating among children.
 * Across the world, millions of children have experienced traumatic events including:
 * Violent crimes
 * Sexual abuse
 * War
 * Exposure to traumatic events and PTSD are commonly found in adults.
 * However, children can be exposed to trauma and experience PTSD symptoms, also.
 * 15-43% of girls & 14-43% of boys have atleast experienced 1 traumatic event in their life.
 * 3-15% of girls & 1-6% of boys have been diagnosed with PTSD.

**__Symptoms of PTSD in Children__:**
 * Recurring memories of the event
 * Frightening dreams of the event
 * Difficulty falling & staying asleep
 * Panic & axiety attacks
 * Changes in mood
 * In order to guarantee a child has PTSD, he or she must have these symptoms for 1 month or longer.


 * __Traumatic Exposure in Children__: **
 * Researchers at Duke University Medical Center studied a large sample of children younger than 16 years-old from Western North Carolina.
 * They viewed traumatic exposure & PTSD symptoms among the children
 * Found that alot of children have been exposed to trauma before they reached 16
 * Only 6% actually had PTSD
 * Just because a child might not be diagnosed with PTSD, does not mean they can not suffer PTSD symptoms.

** __Children in Afghanistan__: **
 * Without a doubt, these children are suffering from PTSD.
 * Many have joined the Taliban because they were able to provide Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
 * They experience a massive amount of war stessors each & every day.
 * Day after day, Afghani children witness:
 * Bombings
 * Abuse
 * Poor home life conditions due to the war
 * Dr. Claudia Catani, from the University of Bielefeld, completed a study on about 300 Afghani school children.
 * A member of the international, non-governmental organization called Vivo or Victim's Voice
 * Has worked with the populations in Afghanistan, Somalia & Sri Lanka where she concentrated on the mental health risks related with war & family violence.
 * The study revealed that 1 in 6 girls & 1 in 4 boys actually had PTSD.
 * Also, Catani & her researchers discovered that girls experience more family violence, whereas boys are ultimately exposed to more distressing life events.




 * __PTSD in Sohrab__: **
 * Sohrab witnesses and experiences tragic situations throughout his life including:
 * War occurring all around him **-->** people in panic, always has to be prepared for attack to occur at any moment
 * Parents are killed in front of him
 * Became an orphan and moved to dirty orphanage with limited food and shelter
 * "Please, Please, no! I'm scared of that place. They‘ll hurt me! I don’t want to go" pg.341
 * Sold to Assef **-->** forced to dress up as a girl and dance
 * Most likely sexually assaulted by Assef
 * "[Assef] He locked his arms around Sohrab's belly, rested his chin on the boy's shoulder." "The man's hand slid up and down the boy's belly." pg.280
 * "[Assef] What do you want to do with him?" "or to him." "[Amir] That's disgusting" "[Assef] How would you know? Have you tried it?" pg.285
 * Witnesses Amir getting beaten
 * Is terrified --> tries to get Assef to stop hurting Amir
 * Shoots Assef with the sling shot causing Assef to lose his eye
 * Taliban is after him
 * Fear of having close relationships/ has trouble trusting Amir
 * Future is undecided --> does not know where he will be going or where life will take him




 * __Why Doesnt Sohrab Talk__? **
 * Often when someone is raised around traumatic situations their entire life they learn to cope and deal with the trauma; HOWEVER, when there is a slight glimpse of hope to escape the trauma, the person realizes how bad their situation truly is and has hope and idea in their head about escaping, BUT when that person is told they might have to return to their life they thought they had escaped the trauma hits almost twice as hard.


 * Sohrab has been suffering from PTSD and traumatic events his entire life, Amir gives him a chance of hope by offering to bring him to America, BUT then Amir tells Sohrab he might have to go back into an orphanage first, which leads Sohrab to try and commit suicide.
 * Sohrab is so traumatized about having to return to the life of destruction that he does not talk for almost a year.

** __Is the United States helping__? **
 * At the end of 2007, there were approximately 1,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) created for Afghanistan relief
 * There have been many countries all over the world including the United States dedicated to helping Afghanistan when it comes to spreading information about Afghanistan, education, military relief, medical assistance, stopping hunger, and infrastructure improvements (plumbing, roads, utilities, water).
 * Even celebrities such as Oprah have tried to lend their support in Afghanistan by getting involved in a help organization.
 * Even with all these organizations there are NO current organizations specifically for helping Afghani children deal with PTSD (that we could find)
 * There are groups and organizations within the United States that help Afghanistan war veterans returning to America deal with their PTSD symptoms but none for Afghani's living in Afghanistan
 * Where there is war, crime and horrible living conditions occur.




 * Bibliography:**

Lamprecht, M. (2007, July 17). Childhood Trauma. Retrieved from []

Marchetti, D. (2010, February 4). Afghani Children Suffering From Post-Traumatic Stress. Retrieved from []

Pawlik-Kienlen, L. (2009, December 30). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. Retrieved from []

Tull, Matthew, PhD. (2008, October 29). Traumatic Exposure and PTSD in Children. Retrieved from []

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[|http://www.afghanirelief.org]