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Potentially Traumatic Events: “Trauma and Deliberate Self-Harm Among Inpatient Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Anxiety Sensitivity (Viana, Dixon 2017).”

What is a potentially traumatic event? A potentially traumatic event is when you and or an individual is put into a situation in which they are not comfortable in and may lead to psychological trauma lasting an acute or lengthy amount of time. Traumatic events are handled differently for everyone, depending on the person and how one copes with psychological pain will determine the time in which one needs to “heal” from the incident and some may never. (Australian Psychological Society, 2017) Some potentially traumatic events include: • Acts of violence, war, terrorism • Natural disaster • Interpersonal violence • Stressful/ intimidating encounters (Australian Psychological Society, 2017) Symptoms caused by trauma: • Physical -potentially may have disturbed sleep - being fatigued and exhausted -excessive alertness when being alone • Mentally/ Emotionally -have nightmares - problems with confusion -troubles with concentration • Behavioral -may withdraw oneself from social events -loss of interest of hobbies and activities (Australian Psychological Society, 2017) Anxiety induced Self Harm in America: In the US alone 68% of youth have reportedly experienced a potentially traumatic event by sixteen years of age (Viana, Dixon 2017). These statistics are very troubling that our world is dangerous enough to put the future of our society lives at risk and potentially leave them with crippling mental illnesses side effects. Majority of youth who encounter such feelings of pain and anxiety and then diagnosed or not yet diagnosed with PTSD leaves them with the feeling of doing anything, and all measures to make the “pain” the individual is feeling which is psychological go away. This trauma can potentially leave the individual more vulnerable to attempted or committed suicide during the period which the individual feels the most pain. This time-period depends on the individual and this time cannot be set by a psychologist and or doctor but the interpersonal emotions of the person. A study was conducted to examine the anxiety sensitivity as a moderator of the relationships between PTSD symptoms and Deliberate Self-Harm in psychiatric inpatient youth. In this study 74 participants were asked to participate everyone involved was between the ages of twelve and seventeen who were also admitted into a local psychiatric hospital. Since, the children have already experienced such trauma in the recent months and or years of their lives an in-depth diagnostic clinical assessment test was not preformed due to the burden put on the PTSD survivors. The children who were participants in the study already have been picked and prodded enough psychological and potentially physically the least exposure to the remembrance of the incident the better the children will be in the long run. The psychological inpatient information as minimal assessment to be admitted into psychiatric hospital that was collected by the hospital staff was the only data besides speaking with the children individually in privacy was the only data information used in the study. While as data was presented to the researchers, the most common diagnosis among the children was moderate to severe mood disorders weighing in at 54 percent, ADHD weighed in at 18 percent, Disruptive behavior disorders concluded to be 16 percent of the children (Viana, Dixon 2017). Just over, 90 percent of the child participants in the study reported taking at least one or more prescribed psychiatric medication prescribed to them for moderate to severe mood disorder or medication in addition to behavioral problems associated with their condition (Viana, Dixon 2017). In conclusion, the result of traumatic events can truly ruin someone’s life forever and leave a deep emotional scar. This is saddening to read as well as know people personally that are effected with psychological trauma and mental illness which effects each person differently. Mental health as a whole is critical, in addition to keeping in line with your personal mental health stability is critical in society today. Most people over look situations that may be traumatic as well as overlook everyday situations that can end up effecting your well-being in the long run. It is very important to check in with yourself from time to time to reflect on past and present events going on in your life to stay on top of mental health and to prevent potentially traumatic events from arising.

References: Australian Psychological Society: Understanding and managing psychological trauma. (2017). Psychology.org.au. Retrieved 19 September 2017, from https://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/trauma/ Copeland WE, Keeler G, Angold A, Costello EJ. Traumatic Events and Posttraumatic Stress in Childhood. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64(5):577–584. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.5.577 McCraw, S., & Parker, G. (2017). The prevalence and outcomes of exposure to potentially       traumatic stressful life events compared across patients with bipolar disorder and unipolar depression. Psychiatry Research, 255399-404. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.06.070 Nitzan-Assayag, Y., Yuval, K., Tanay, G., Aderka, I. M., Vujanovic, A. A., Litz, B., &         Bernstein, A. (2017). Reduced reactivity to and suppression of thoughts mediate the         effects of mindfulness training on recovery outcomes following exposure to potentially    traumatic stress. Mindfulness, 8(4), 920-932. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0666-x Viana, A. G., Dixon, L. J., Berenz, E. C., & Espil, F. M. (2017). Trauma and deliberate self-harm         among inpatient adolescents: The moderating role of anxiety sensitivity. Psychological         Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy, 9(5), 509-517. doi:10.1037/tra000016