School Shootings Are Raising Anxiety and Panic in U.S. Children

     A familiar and utterly terrifying tragedy that is striking the U.S in large numbers is mass/school shootings and is now riddling school children with anxiety and PTSD. Scrolling through Time, I found this article "School shootings are raising anxiety and panic in U.S. children" and wondered just how the effects of tragedies such as this hurt the development of children in grades K-12.

  This article even went as far as to explain how children not directly involved in a shooting can still be tragically affected by experiencing anxiety and depression. Researchers studied more than 2,000 high school students and found that of those children, some most concerned were likely to meet the criteria for anxiety and panic disorders. Though children of any age can be affected, the article explains that researchers say younger children, specifically elementary school students, can be highly affected. 

  Elementary students are young and underdeveloped to the point they are unable to make sense of such events. Researchers also found that directly or indirectly exposed kids from ages 2 to 9 have a higher rate of developing PTSD. In contrast, older kids from 10 to 19 need more than a couple incidents of direct or indirect exposure to become affected. It is a sad reality that children have to suffer from their mental health due to someone else's mental health. 

Unfortunately, children are defenseless in the circumstances like this. The article goes on to show the causes of what is the reality for kids who are still developing and those who are already developed. The mental overload they do not deserve and how dangerous it can be for a child to establish diagnoses from such an event. It is essential to shield our children and help their mental health.   

Article Link:

https://time.com/6182235/mass-shootings-children-mental-health-anxiety-depression/