Traumatic events and adverse childhood events cont.
– Mass traumas – natural disasters, acts of terror – Concerns about climate change and global events (285) The young person does not need to be directly involved in the event for it to be traumatic. The young person might witness it happening to someone else, learn about a traumatic event that has occurred to someone close to them, or be exposed to repeated or extreme details of the event. This is often referred to as ‘vicarious trauma’ (286). Youth MHFA might not always happen immediately after the traumatic event. For instance, there are some types of trauma that are not single discrete incidents. Common examples of recurring trauma include sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, and torture. In these cases, the Youth MHFA action plan will be used when the Youth MHFAider first becomes aware of what has been happening. Sometimes memories of traumatic events may return suddenly or unexpectedly, and this can be weeks, months, or years after the original event(s) took place. Again, Youth MHFA will be used when the Youth MHFAider first becomes aware. Abuse can take many forms. Abuse is a pattern of abusive behaviour that someone uses against a partner or someone they know. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, or present as isolation. The vast majority of young people who experience sexual abuse are abused by someone they know (287). Young people can be abused in teenage relationships, as well as by adults. Teenage relationship abuse is often hidden because teenagers typically lack experience of what is inappropriate and can be under pressure from their peers to remain in a relationship or appear positive (288). Some young people may believe that boys and girls should be treated differently or that masculinity is shown through
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