Are you looking for information on trauma-specific Signs & Symptoms? On this page you will find both general and trauma-specific symptoms by Physical, Behavioral and Emotional signs. In each trauma-specific page, you will find recommended books, see the top 5 personal stories and useful links.

• Frequent, unexplainable temper tantrums, deliberate disobedience or aggression
• Opposition to authority, truancy, theft, vandalism, and consistent violation of the rights of others, threats of self-harm or self-injury; harm or violence toward others
• Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
• Noticeable decline in school performance
• Pronounced difficulties with attention, concentration or organization, hyperactive
• Sustained, prolonged negative mood and attitude. Often accompanied by poor appetite, difficulty in sleeping, or thoughts of death or many physical complaints.
• Peer pressure, poor peer relationships and/or social isolation, or involvement with cults or gangs

• Frequent nightmares, waking in the night, or bedwetting
• Separation anxiety, or school anxiety (concern over or refusal to go to school)
• Excessively worried, fearful, or easily startled
• Physical complaints: headaches, stomachaches, other aches and pains with no clear medical cause
• Aggressive behavior, angry outbursts or irritability
• tearfulness, sadness, talking about scared feelings or scary ideas
• Regressive behaviors, acting "babyish" or younger
• Numb or showing little or no feelings, loss of interest in friends, school or other activities child used to enjoy
• Difficulty concentrating at school or home, daydreaming
• Repeatedly acting out violent events in play, loss creativity

• Helplessness and passivity; lack of usual responsiveness Loss of interest in activities
• Generalized fear, Heightened arousal and confusion and accident proneness
• Inability to understand death as permanent, Anxieties about death
• Avoidance of or alarm response to specific trauma-related reminders involving sights and physical sensations
• Aggressive behavior and angry outbursts
• Increased self-focusing, depression and social withdrawal
• School avoidance and decline in school performance
• Worry and concern for others
• Changes in behavior, mood, and personality, trauma-driven acting out, such as with sexual activity and reckless risk taking
• Regression (behaving like a younger child)
• Confusion and inadequate understanding of traumatic events (more evident in play than in discussion) and preoccupation with danger
• Effort to distance oneself from feelings of shame, guilt, and humiliation
• Excessive activity and involvement with others, or retreat from others in order to manage inner turmoil
• Wish for revenge and action-oriented responses to trauma
• Sleep and eating disturbances, including nightmares

• Signs of stress
• Aggressive, oppositional behaviors are normal reactions to the uncertainty of this situation
• Children may play "war," pretend to blow things up, or include images of violence in artwork and writing
• Fear, anger, attempting to isolate themselves from others
• Difficulty sleeping and nightmares
• School anxiety and separation anxiety from parents

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