Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after war: Symptoms in adults and children explained

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Wellbeing & longevity 17-04-2026 | 11:04

Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after war: Symptoms in adults and children explained

A closer look at how PTSD develops gradually after trauma, its common signs across ages, and why children often express distress through behavior rather than words.
Carine Eliane
Carine Eliane
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Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after war: Symptoms in adults and children explained
Post-traumatic stress disorder is expected after the war.
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Due to the difficult circumstances we are going through during the war, doctors and psychology experts expect an increase in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, which may become more apparent at the end of the war, in both children and adults. Psychiatrist Dr. Jihan Rhayem explains that post-traumatic stress disorder results from a direct shock experienced by an individual, leaving effects that can intensify over time if neglected.

 

 

Expressive image (Pexels)
Expressive image (Pexels)

 

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?


Post-traumatic stress disorder is a well-defined disorder in the field of psychiatry, typically caused by a direct shock a person experiences from serious injuries, the loss of a loved one in a harsh or violent way, or witnessing someone die. According to Rhayem, rescuers, doctors, nurses, and others who are on the front lines in wartime conditions, as well as police and security workers exposed to high levels of violence, are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

 

At what stage does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder appear?

 

This disorder does not appear immediately after the initial moment of experiencing a shock, but rather weeks after exposure to the shock, as its symptoms gradually appear across different age groups. Although the symptoms differ in children compared to adults, there are common symptoms identified by Rhayem, including:

 

  • Memories related to the incident or shock recur in various forms, such as repeated nightmares about the same subject.

 

  • Scenes from the incident frequently replay in the individual’s mind throughout the day, causing severe tension or panic attacks, and also preventing concentration at work or school. 

 

  • Reliving scenes from the incident through stories that remind them of it, which pushes the individual to avoid places related to the incident or discussions that bring it back in any way. 

 

  • Mood disorders and entering a state of depression with no enjoyment in activities. 

 

 

  • Decreased ability to concentrate.

 

  • Feeling like facing a dead-end that prevents achieving future goals and dreams.

 

  • Loss of optimism in life in everything attempted.

 

  • Emotional numbness, unable to feel sadness or happiness, as if living in another world, not sharing others' feelings.

 

  • Constant tension symptoms such as rapid heartbeat during the day and jaw pain at night from teeth grinding, as well as back and muscle pain.

 

  • Quick temper and indirect quick reactions.

 

  • Feeling guilty for not being able to prevent others’ deaths, a feeling that accompanies the appearance of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

 

 

 

 

Rhayem points out that these symptoms and thoughts, primarily dominated by guilt, lead to deeper depression, making it difficult to recover from the condition. However, these symptoms do not appear directly in the initial stage; she emphasizes that they emerge gradually and must last for at least a month before diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder. They should also bring about general changes in life, mood, and behavior, which others notice before the person does.

 

 

Expressive image
Expressive image

 

 

How do Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms differ in children?

 

In children, the condition differs in that they usually do not express their feelings and thoughts through words, and symptoms are expected to appear more through behavior:

 

  • Play in ways that recall the incident, as seen in circulated videos of children in Gaza playing as if participating in the burial ceremony of someone killed.

 

  • Nightmares that may not directly relate to the situation but lead to sleep disturbances, insomnia, nighttime awakenings, and recurring unclear nightmares.

 

  • Anger that may not manifest as in adults, but instead as overactivity, excessive movement, difficulty calming down, and hyperactivity.

 

  • Reduced concentration at school and a decline in academic performance.
Tags
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ، trauma ، mental health ، war ، children ، symptoms