Animal attacks can be terrifying for children (and adults) and have long term effects

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common long-term effect of being a trauma victim, and victims of animal attacks are no exception to this rule.

It is well documented in child welfare reporting that the majority of reported animal attack cases in the U.S. are on children.  According to The Center for Disease Control and the American Veterinarian Association, the highest reported incident rates involve 5-9 year olds, and 77% of those injuries are to the face, neck, and head. This, of course, is particularly terrifying for children, especially considering that the family dog is the aggressor in nearly half of the attacks.

Medical attention is usually the very first action taken when a child is bitten or attacked by a dog or other animal. A dog attack can cause lacerations, punctures, crush injuries, nerve damage, sprain and strain of muscles, infection… and of course, emotional distress.

A 2004 study found that over half of (studied) animal attack victims had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder 2 to 9 months after sustaining a dog bite injury. (Citation: Peters, V. et. al. Post-traumatic stress disorder after dog bites in children. J. Pediatrics, 2004, 144, 121-122.)

It’s therefore important that children (and anyone) who have been attacked by animals and exhibit PTSD symptoms are given follow-up psychological treatment.

Peter Levine, an expert in the field of healing trauma with a technique called somatic experiencing, names the following symptoms as common ones in the wake of an animal attack:

• excessive fear
• feeling that the world is a dangerous place
• anxiety
• sensitivity to sounds or light
• difficulty sleeping
• difficulty in defending oneself
• stuck in a pattern of compulsive attack or rage
• stuck in a pattern of running away (difficulty with commitment)
• helplessness
• frequent re-enactments

Interestingly, Levine makes the connection that we are all in fact animals, and that “the involuntary and instinctual parts of the human brain and nervous system are virtually identical to those of other mammals.” He goes on to explain how our own reaction to trauma mimics the Fight, Flight or Freeze response that wild animals instinctually use to survive.

However, it’s important to remember that we are not just animals.

The difference between people and animals lies in the prolonged state of the reaction to an attack. When an animal is no longer in danger, it is able to easily shake off the energy of fear and self-defense. This allows animals to return to their normal state of functioning pretty quickly. On the other hand, people who experience PTSD will suffer the negative effects of an attack long after the attack is over.

Animal attack victims suffering from PTSD may handle threats by reacting inappropriately aggressively (the “fight” response). They may, on the other hand, be in a constant hypervigilant state that prompts them to flee even the most minutely anxiety-provoking circumstances (such as hearing a dog bark in the distance). And in particular, animal attack PTSD sufferers tend to cleave to the “freeze” mentality, opting to numb out or check out when presented with stressful situations, rather than deal with them directly.

Studies show that traumatic events can actually result in neurological damage in children.

Reduced hippocampal activity in children with PTSD can affect their memory permanently.  In one study, “Children between the ages of 10 and 17 were divided into a group with a confirmed diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (arising from a variety of traumatizing events) and compared with a group of children with no post traumatic stress disorder. Brain scans (e.g. MRI) were taken simultaneously when subjects completed a test for verbal memory. The test consisted of having subjects read a list of words from one list, then read an additional set of words from another list, and then try to remember which words were on the original list. Compared with children without posttraumatic stress disorder, those with PTSD did poorly on this test, and during testing these subjects also showed considerably less electrical activity in their hippocampus.” (Citation: Carrión, V. et. al., Reduced hippocampal activity in youth with post-traumatic stress symptoms: An MRI study, J. Pediatric Psychology, 2010, in press)

The brutality of nature comes close to home when an animal attacks occurs. Whether it’s the rare tragic incident at a zoo or an all-too-common bite by a neighbor’s dog, being attacked by an animal is a terrifying event that can have lasting effects.

Barking dogs are a very common noise and almost impossible to avoid in daily life. Therefore, victims of animal bite trauma might be constantly reminded of their experience in their everyday lives.

Emotional abuse can be overt, such as intimidation, threats, verbal abuse, berating, belittling, or constant yelling. Or it can be more subtle, such as neglectful behavior, manipulative withdrawal of affection, or repeated disapproval.

In any case, emotional abuse eventually corrodes a child’s self-confidence and self-trust, leaving them in judgment of their perceptions and at the mercy of the abuser. Emotional abuse can cut to the very core of a child’s psyche, leaving them confused, scared, and damaged in ways that can ultimately be even more traumatizing than those of physical abuse.

National Child Protection Clearinghouse refers to emotional abuse as “the hidden form of maltreatment.” With child victims of emotional abuse, parents or caregivers are obviously the most common abusers.

It’s important to note that emotional abuse goes beyond verbal abuse. Emotional abuse can impact a child’s self-worth and is a basic threat to their healthy human development. And, because it can be one of the most difficult types of abuse to detect, its malignant effects are insidious.

Ways that emotional abuse can manifest
(source: www.findcounseling.com)

• Belittling
• Coldness
• Corrupting or exploiting
• Cruelty
• Extreme Inconsistency
• Harassment
• Ignoring
• Inappropriate Control – lack of control, over control, and inconsistent control
• Isolating
• Rejecting
• Terrorizing

How does emotional abuse impact a child?

Emotional abuse has an impact on a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological and social development.

Typical behavioral changes may include:

• Withdrawal
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Aggressive behavior

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has this to say about how the effects of emotional abuse can have a powerful hold on victims: “… the effects are damaging and long lasting. They can lead to serious behavioral, learning, emotional or mental disorders. All of which affect the child’s chances of developing into a healthy, well-adjusted adult.”

AmericanHumane.org says, “Although the visible signs of emotional abuse in children can be difficult to detect, the hidden scars of this type of abuse manifest in numerous behavioral ways, including insecurity, poor self-esteem, destructive behavior, angry acts (such as fire setting and animal cruelty), withdrawal, poor development of basic skills, alcohol or drug abuse, suicide, difficulty forming relationships and unstable job histories.”

Not all bad days constitute emotional abuse

All parents have their bad days. The occasional negative attitude or action does not make for an abusive caregiver. Emotional abuse is based on a pattern of behavior that takes place over at least a one-year period of time, and often in conjunction with other types of abuse.  However, it’s when emotional abuse is found in isolation that it can be truly dangerous, because it is inherently hard to identify… and to handle legally. Because issues surrounding emotional abuse can seem open to interpretation, they can be hard to pinpoint and remedy.

Just like with sexual abuse, most parents who abuse their children emotionally were themselves emotionally abused as children. This is why it’s important that adults who believe they were emotionally abused as children seek counseling in order to thwart the pattern before they unwillingly repeat it with their own children and loved ones.

Sexual abuse is a particularly sinister type of trauma because of the shame it instills in the victim. With childhood sexual abuse, victims are often too young to know how to express what is happening and seek out help. When not properly treated, this can result in a lifetime of PTSD, depression and anxiety.

The trauma that results from sexual abuse is a syndrome that affects not just the victim and their family, but all of our society. Because sexual abuse, molestation and rape are such shame-filled concepts, our culture tends to suppress information about them.

In the U.S (according to childtrauma.org), one out of three females and one out of five males have been victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18 years. And according to the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (AAETS), 30% of all male children are molested in some way, compared to 40% of females.

One of the most startling statistics unearthed during research into sexual abuse are that children are three times as likely to be victims of rape than adults. Stranger abuse constitutes by far the minority of cases. It is more likely for a child to experience sexual abuse at the hands of a family member or another supposedly trustworthy adult.

Sexual abuse is a truly democratic issue. It affects children and adults across ethnic, socioeconomic, educational, religious, and regional lines.

Exactly what constitutes “sexual abuse” when it comes to children?

The Incest Survivors Resource Network states that “the erotic use of a child, whether physically or emotionally, is sexual exploitation in the fullest meaning of the term, even if no bodily contact is ever made.” It’s important to notice this clause about “no sexual contact.” Often, victims of sexual abuse will try to downplay their experience by saying that it “wasn’t that bad.” It’s vital to recognize that abuse comes in many shapes, colors and sizes, and that all abuse is bad.

Outcomes of sexual abuse

The most common effect of sexual abuse is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Symptoms can extend far into adulthood and can include withdrawn behavior, reenactment of the traumatic event, avoidance of circumstances that remind one of the event, and physiological hyper-reactivity.

Another legacy of sexual abuse is that children abused at any early age often become hyper-sexualized or sexually reactive. Issues with promiscuity and poor self-esteem are unfortunately common reactions to early sexual abuse.

Substance abuse is a common outcome of sexual abuse. In fact, according to the AAETS, “specialists in the addiction field (alcohol, drugs, and eating disorders) estimate that up to 90 percent of their patients have a known history of some form of abuse.”

Specific symptoms of sexual abuse:
(citation, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress)

• Withdrawal and mistrust of adults
• Suicidality
• Difficulty relating to others except in sexual or seductive ways
• Unusual interest in or avoidance of all things sexual or physical
• Sleep problems, nightmares, fears of going to bed
• Frequent accidents or self-injurious behaviors
• Refusal to go to school, or to the doctor, or home
• Secretiveness or unusual aggressiveness
• Sexual components to drawings and games
• Neurotic reactions (obsessions, compulsiveness, phobias)
• Habit disorders (biting, rocking)
• Unusual sexual knowledge or behavior
• Prostitution
• Forcing sexual acts on other children
• Extreme fear of being touched
• Unwillingness to submit to physical examination

Studies have shown that children who experience sexual abuse tend to recover quicker and with better results if they have a supportive, caring adult (ideally a parent) consistently in their life.

Because most child sexual abusers were once abused themselves, it’s crucial for victims of sexual abuse to seek counseling and care so that they don’t end up repeating the pattern themselves.

trapped

Many people wonder, “Why don’t kidnapping victims like Jacee Dugard try to escape when they have the chance? Why do they bond with their perpetrator?” Research shows that these behavioral patterns are typically experienced by sexually assaulted people; abuse, domestic violence, and incest victims; cult members; and those who survive kidnapping and hostage situations.

We have to step away from what we think is logical and discover how trauma affects people’s physical and mental health.

Additionally, we need to consider that trauma has a greater impact on children than on adults because they are mentally, physically, and emotionally more vulnerable. The underlying cause of many survivors’ behaviors might be physiological and psychological trauma reactions such as escape paralysis, which is created by a combination of nervous system responses, conditioning, dependency, and a phenomenon called trauma bonding.

During a traumatic event, such as abuse, assault, or kidnapping, our logic is turned off and our nervous system automatically goes into a survival-mode (“fight, flight, freeze”) response. If we cannot run away or are unable to fight, we go into a freeze state, unable to move or act.

Peter Levine, a psycho-physiological trauma specialist, explains that this is a leftover state from our animal instinct in which animals pretend they are dead so the perpetrator will lose interest. Additionally, when physical and psychological pain becomes too much to tolerate, the mind distances itself from the experience by numbing the body and the psyche, which is called dissociation. Feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories are shut off, causing one to lose touch with reality and feel detached or estranged from others. Unfortunately, we cannot override our nervous system by logic alone; it will likely remain stuck in the survival loop of freeze and dissociation unless the nervous system has been regulated and the psychological and physical wounds are healed.

Van der Kolk, a trauma researcher, says, “Trauma interferes with the ability to meet daily needs and perform the most basic task.”  Therefore, it will be difficult for anyone to perform basic undertakings or think of taking actions to escape or change a situation when one is faced with such traumatic experiences.

Part of feeling paralyzed and avoiding escape may also occur if the perpetrator instills emotional and physical conditioning in the victim, such as fear, threat, or pain. With enough repetition, the brain circuitry becomes conditioned to make certain associations, known as Hebbian learning (“cells that fire together wire together”), so that a person may feel too paralyzed to escape, avoid certain behavior, and distrust his/her own judgment. This condition has been known to continue internally in the victim even when the abusive situation is over.

When a victim is dependent for food, shelter, and human interaction, the victim’s escape paralyses might deepen even further. Often, a captor uses a formula to deprive his/her victim of what they need to function (such as safety, sleep, and food) and punishes them with threat, pain, and isolation to create dependency. However, as humans, we tend to stay away from isolation and strive to have human contact. When the caregiver is the perpetrator and the only person with whom to attach, the victim will depend on the bond for survival and become anxiously obedient. This emotional attachment lessens the fear of survival because, if the victim bonds, historical data show that she/he is less likely to be killed. Bonding with tormentors is also known as the Stockholm Syndrome, a term that describes victims who attach to their captors and develop loyalty towards them as a way to adapt to the exploitative person/situation.

There are many people who are unable to leave their tormentors as a result of escape paralysis. This behavior might be created by a combination of survival mechanisms including trauma responses, victims’ conditioning, dependency, and trauma bonding. The good news is that there is hope for survivors. It is not a quick process but, with resources such as support and understanding of family, friends, and community, as well as therapy that addresses the nervous system and the psyche, healing can happen.

Your Inner Child

Many of us have a younger part within us, also called the “inner child”, that has not been heard, seen, or treated the way it wanted or hoped for in her/his live. As a result, whether it is an inner child, adolescent, or younger adult, feelings of being ignored, abandoned, or not loved may be retained. The memories of these unresolved feelings are carried into our adult life and often become buried in the subconscious. However, the younger part within us remains waiting to be found, to be listened to and to be nurtured, and keeps acting out in attempt to be discovered and attended to.

Anna described having a deep sense of loneliness and struggling with depression. When she searched for the answers of where these feelings originated, she discovered her 9 year old inner child. Her little girl was feeling lonely, bored, and sad, waiting in her room for her mother to arrive from work, even though she knew she was going to be yelled at. Her mother was working many hours and wrapped in her fatigue and worries, she became blind to what her daughter needed. During this time this young girl came to a few conclusions and beliefs about herself, her parents, and the world around her. One conclusion was that she had to stay busy to distract from her pain; the other decision she made was that she needed to please her mother as much as she could in hope to be loved in return. A pattern of having to please everyone and staying busy had been ingrained to the current day and she eventually forgot where these habits were coming from.

Anna decided to contact her “inner child” and began to have age appropriately conversations with her. These dialogues felt strange at first and building a connection between the inner child and the adult took time and trust, and did not go smoothly in the beginning. But after a while, they both formed a beautiful relationship in which little Anna was finally heard and was able to express herself. Although Anna’s work did not change her childhood, it changed her habits and perceptions because she recognized that her habits were coping techniques that had no functions anymore. She also realized that loneliness was an old feeling that lingered inside of her and unconsciously colored most of her experiences. As her relationship with herself improved, so did her feelings of lonesomeness, her relationships with others and the world around her changed in return.

Depending on children’s ages they do not always interpret their environment and parents’ actions correctly. When connecting to the younger part, false memories can be uncovered and give the inner child a chance to understand and make sense of something that was misunderstood in the past. For example, a pregnant mother told the story of her 4 year old daughter Sophia who believed that she no longer was needed because her sister was going to be born in a few months. In a straightforward way Sophia claimed that it wouldn’t matter if she died. The surprised mother told her that it would matter and that she is the best thing that ever happened to her. Her daughter replied “but you have Mikaela now”, to which she explained that Mikaela could never replace her and that she could love both of them. Children are not always able to make sense of their situation the way an adult can and therefore sometimes form beliefs that are not based on reality but their conceptual ability.

Many leading authors such as John Bradshaw, Erika J. Chopich and Margaret Paul, Whitfield and 12 step programs have written about the importance of building a relationship with the “inner child” and found that it can help with many issues including loneliness, fears, depression and raising confidence. The journey of discovering younger parts within us can be surprising and awkward at first but may also be very rewarding.

forgiveness

Learning to recognize and respond to our internal “alarm signals” which assess every situation and inform us about appropriate reactions to follow, might help us to let go of grudges and to forgive another person.

A woman, whom I will call Laureen, expressed that she noticed getting upset at her friend’s comment made a day ago. Time had passed and rehashing their conversation did not seem to be the right solution. She believed that her friend had no intention of hurting her, yet her anger would not subside. Laureen explained that she just wanted to forgive her friend but did not know how.

Forgiveness is accepting what happened in the past and what someone did, not holding on or dwelling on it anymore. Forgiveness does not mean denying important feelings such as anger or sadness. In fact, in order to access forgiveness, connecting and paying attention to anger is often a necessary step. Yet people who have been abused or had poor role models in their lives are often not comfortable with their own anger. Because anger was not safe to express but necessary in the circumstances to suppress, feelings of anger were avoided. Not showing anger could be a conditioned cultural response as well.

Ideally, Laureen would have felt comfortable to talk to her friend and express her feelings, if not immediately, a short time after their encounter. However, she wanted to look at her anger and her difficulty in forgiving. Forgiveness is not an act of kindness for others; it is the coming to peace for ourselves. According to Frederic Loskin’s research, holding grudges can negatively impact one’s health, whereas forgiveness has beneficial health effects.

With a method called Somatic Experiencing, Laureen discovered that her friend’s comment had triggered Laureen’s childhood memories when danger was a reoccurring theme. She discovered that holding on to her anger was a subconscious survival method — an attempt to prepare her for a possible reoccurring “attack.” She noticed that her state of anger put her into a fight mode whereas forgiveness would have meant being relaxed and not ready to act. Her session revealed that because her “alarm sensor” did not indicate her hurt and anger immediately, her subconscious decided to hold on to her delayed emotions so that next time she would be ready to protect herself.

Everyone has a built-in alarm system, monitored by the Limbic Brain, that indicates when we might be in danger or not. This alarm system prepares us to react quickly with a fight, flight (escape), or freeze (shutting down feelings) response. When the situation appears to be danger free, we go back to our “base” state. Over time our experiences form associations so that we can analyze new situations even faster. However, Psychological Trauma or conditioned cultural responses may result in a delayed reaction of our “alarm sensor.” People can find themselves reacting hours or days later rather than reacting in the moment. Because it was always dangerous or they were not allowed to express their emotions they might have learned to suppress their alarm system.
On the other hand, with repeated trauma the limbic brain might also habitually overreact and perceive a threat when there is not one. For example, a combat veteran might jump into a bush when he/she hears a car backfire even though there is no current danger.

Laureen realized that she needed to recognize her alarm signals so that she could react in the moment.

What follows are 4 powerful steps that she used to improve her “alarm system”:

1. She visualized her conversation with her friend.
2. Then she began noticing what she was sensing in her body when her friend made the comment. Laureen became aware of tension in her stomach. It is not only our thoughts that give us our warning signals but our bodily sensations as well. These sensations might appear in different forms such as headaches, shoulder pain, and other physical symptoms. This exercise can also help a person to differentiate between the here and now versus past painful memories.
3. Laureen paused and became the kind observer of her tension.
4. She now knew that her stomach would send her warning signals she needed to listen to. Laureen reported that she felt her stomach again in another conversation but this time she paused for a minute and recognized she was getting irritated again. This time she had the choice to speak up and decided to address her irritation immediately. Her tension and anger were resolved and she no longer needed to hang on to her feelings of anger towards her friend in order to protect herself.

Forgiveness is part of a healing process in which we take responsibility for what we are feeling. We free ourselves of the people who might have hurt us.

Recognizing our internal alarm signals and paying attention to our “warning” sensations can pave the path to forgiveness and, as a result, have additional health benefits.

Follow these 4 simple steps for an alarm signal tune-up:

1. Visualize the situation that is distressing.
2. Notice what you feel in your body.
3. Observe your sensations without judgment, especially if they bring up painful memories from the past.
4. Return to the original situation or picture another similar situation. Notice what you are feeling. Recognize sensations that signal an opportunity to make a new and different choice. Appreciate your body’s wisdom and commit to noticing its alarm signals earlier, honoring them (not suppressing them), and expressing yourself honestly with kindness toward others and yourself.

Power of Being you

Giving too much of yourself and saying yes too often is something many people are accustomed to doing to avoid conflicts and feelings of guilt. A sincere desire to give is wonderful, however, there’s a distinction between giving of yourself and giving up yourself. Ignoring your own desires and views may not only deny “who you are” but, over time, may lead to resenting others, feeling fatigued or anxious, and experiencing stress induced physical symptoms.

The pattern of avoiding conflicts and pleasing others without considering your own needs is typical for someone who was not allowed to say no in his or her family – being criticized, yelled at, or abused in childhood. Bradshaw, an inner child specialist, adds that this pattern might also stem from not having been able to properly complete the toddler phase between 18 months to three years. While still feeling dependant, toddlers are trying to separate from their parents to explore their autonomy by opposing their parents. These interactions are often interpreted as power struggles by parents whose patience is pushed to the edge. If parents do not know how to model healthy ways to handle frustrations and set appropriate limits, children might not be able to test their power successfully. As a result they may end up having difficulty saying no to others or even asking for what they want without feeling great remorse or shame. As adults they might continue this particular pattern without knowing where their behavior originated.

One of the most helpful ways of gaining back a sense of “power of being you” is to spend time with your “inner child” that still needs to complete this toddler phase effectively. The best way to access your inner child is when you are still and quiet such as in a state of meditation or self-hypnosis. Before you start, set an intention of how you want to feel. Additionally, telling yourself that you are looking from the here and now is important so that you don’t regress during this exercise.  Also remember that you are not in the same situation you were during childhood. If going back to childhood memories brings up traumatic experiences, I would advise you to have the support of a psychotherapist.

When you are in a relaxed position, ask your inner child to come forward – the child that that holds the original pain of what you are currently struggling with. For example, if you want to resolve your issue of needing to stand up for yourself, you need to connect to the child that is linked to the time you learned not to stand up for yourself. Our subconscious holds “inner children” that are of various ages and therefore a different child may come forward at different times. With a little practice, connecting with your inner child becomes easier and you might receive an image, a sensation, or recall a scenario from your past where you were hurt or needed attention.

Once your inner child appears, do not push or force your inner child to do anything – just observe her and let him or her guide you for a while. Stay with it and notice what is happening as you pay attention. Even though you would think the child knows you, it needs to learn to trust and to get to know you. Often people are not sure what to do or say. Test out what your inner child responds to and value the child’s accomplishments. Say something nurturing and comforting like “I am here for you;” or “It is Okay to say no, to be mad or sad, and to explore;” and “I will make sure you don’t get hurt.” Be patient as all new skills require time and practice.

To help this process, try to gather information about each of your developmental stages and find out as much as you can about your childhood. Additionally, I encourage you to debrief your experience with someone that you can trust and who will support you. Once you have completed the toddler stage successfully, you can reclaim the power of being you and saying “yes” to your own desires and opinions. As you respect your own desires and boundaries and stop repressing them, you might experience increased energy, less anxiety, and less stress on your body. Even more, others have a chance to see who you really are and get to know you on a deeper level.