City-Wide Trauma Awareness, Sensitivity and Healing Through Relationships
2.4.1 What difference does One Good Adult make? Young people who reported having one good adult tended to have: • Increased self-esteem • More success in school life • Better mental health • More likely to seek help • Less risk-taking behaviours Not having One Good Adult is linked to higher levels of distress, anti-social behaviour, and increased risk for suicidal behaviour. Having One Good Adult is essential.
2.5 Types of Stress Response: Positive, Tolerable and Toxic Stress The Centre for the Developing Child Harvard University (2022) distinguishes between three types of stress responses: positive, tolerable, and toxic. 1. Positive Stress- motivates us to get things done, it is short-lived and once it is over stress levels return to normal levels. 2. Tolerable Stress is more serious but as the name suggests it’s tolerable for one reason- we have a key relationship to help us through. 3. Toxic Stress – stress becomes toxic or traumatic when it is prolonged and occurs in the absence of a relationship. (Butler, Clerkin & Cummins, 2022: 130) Toxic stress is trauma. Toxic stress has the potential to profoundly alter the development of a child’s brain and can affect the immune system, with research showing a correlation between early adversity and poorer outcomes later in life (Butler et al., 2022; Burke et al ., 2011; ). Young children are especially sensitive to repeated trauma and adversity, largely because their bodies and brains are developing (Butler et al., 2022; Jedd et al., 2015; Bremmer, 2006).
Cork Trauma Sensitive City
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