Health Wellness & Nutrition: BACK TO SCHOOL
Teens, Loss and Grief
By Shantella Y. Sherman
Special to the NNPA from the
Afro-American Newspaper
F
or thousands of youth living in the
D.C. metropolitan area the threat of
violence creates constant fear. From
random assaults and homicides positioned
in the news media as commonplace, to the
often-used refrain that victims were “in the
wrong place at the wrong time,” a growing
sense of fear and grief have come to charac-
terize adolescent development. Think tanks
like the Rand Corporation have found that
inner-city communities often incur rates
of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms
among young people comparable to those
seen in veterans of the Vietnam, Afghani-
stan, and Iraq wars. Recognizing the symp-
toms of associated grief, depression, and
chronic stress, however, is often clouded by
stereotypes, leaving sufferers to go untreat-
ed.
Chronic stress and prolonged grieving cy-
cles have a profound impact on the physi-
cal and mental well-being of young people.
Sleeplessness, anxiety, cardiovascular dis-
ease, behavioral problems, and complaints
of headaches or stomachaches are common.
Among middle and junior high school stu-
dents in urban school systems, 41 percent
reported witnessing a stabbing or shooting
in the past year; and 83 percent reported
experiencing one or more traumatic events
themselves. The epidemic of trauma-relat-
ed stress and grief, however, becomes most
evident in hospital visits and school disci-
plinary hearings.
Chaz Kohlreiser, a certified counselor
at the Wendt Center in D.C., works with
young people, aged 6-21, suffering trauma
as the result of losing friends to violence. He
said treatment requires re-establishing their
sense of community beyond the sidewalk
memorials and candlelight vigils.
“Our young people are dealing with the
loss of friends and classmates from back-
to-back murders, with them sometimes
witnessing those homicides and other times
hearing graphic details about them. Their
sense of trust, safety, and control are taken
away,” Kohlreiser said. “Many have grown
sick of going to the vigils and may be expe-
riencing a sort of numbness that desensitizes
their reactions.”
Kohlreiser said that clinical researchers
are beginning to recognize that not feeling
safe in their own communities keeps these
young people from expressing the grief of
loss, particularly if they come from rocky
households where domestic violence or ab-
senteeism already exist.
Such was the case with LaShawna Dun-
who lives near Stanton Road in Southeast.
“Where do you go when everywhere you
stand could be where you die?”
LaShawna, who lived with extended fam-
ily members, said no one paid attention to
her grief or fears until it turned into an-
A growing sense of fear and grief have come to
characterize adolescent development
can, who attended more than 20 friends’
funerals in one year and is currently being
treated for PTSD-symptoms. “
I used to be afraid to step outside my
door because so much was happening in
my neighborhood, so I stayed in the house;
then stray bullets started hitting the sides of
the apartment building,” said LaShawna,
Page 8 August 5, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner
ger and she was suspended for fighting at
school. “I was tired of being afraid and felt
like I needed to get the world before it got
me,” she said.
Robert T. Phillips, an Annapolis-based
psychiatrist, said that as unresolved grief
morphs into a more intensified complicat-
ed grief, adolescent behavioral issues may
manifest in acting out or fighting, similar to
LaShawna’s.
“Creating a safe space that is grounded in
confidentiality and void of judgment, shame,
and criticism invites adolescents to express
their feelings regarding their own mortali-
ty and consequently presents opportuni-
ties for growth and healing,” Phillips said.
“Schools, parents, and community members
should seek professional help for grieving
teens if dysfunctional and non-developmen-
tally appropriate behaviors become consis-
tently present in their lives.”
Phillips said that assuming the passage
of time will necessarily heal deep wounds
is a false hope that blocks healthy individ-
ual development. “Intentionally connecting
grieving adolescents with professional help
can potentially break the cycle of violence
in the African-American community and the
community at-large,” Phillips said.