Post-traumatic stress - it is a severe psychological condition, accompanied by a decline in mood, memory impairment, a pessimistic assessment of the prospects, depression, inability to establish deeper contacts with the surrounding, high excitability, or, conversely, weak activity of children. But the main feature of post-traumatic stress - this is its duration. After the first acute phase of fear and then comes the shock of a fairly long period of seemingly normal behavior when a child is behaving "as always". The only thing he escapes, it's situations and conversations related to the previous shock. He seemed to "forget" all. Post-traumatic stress in children comes to the absurd. The child may insist that he was never on the representation of the Nord-Ost ", despite three days of hell and the subsequent prolonged hospitalization. But time passes, the years (sometimes two, sometimes ten), and with an adult tantrum starts, his tortured memories, all experienced as yesterday - hot, emotionally rich, and also scary. And it becomes clear: all the time injury was living in my heart and affects the perception of man and his relationship with his family, his career - in short, to his fate.

Massive post-traumatic stress is a result of wars, disasters, earthquakes. Its name, this syndrome (almost the disease, but can live in normal conditions, without hospitalization) received after the psychologists began working with veterans of wars - Vietnam, Afghanistan, Chechnya. But, of course, the psychological consequences of wars and disasters have been before. Just mental health issues receive less attention. It is sad, but it was the war stimulated the development of psychology as a science and practice. And just recently began to pay attention to the children. The reason for that - vile terrorism, which makes it vulnerable to us and our children on the streets, at school, at home, in the subway and in hospitals.

But apart from the direct, primary, victims of terrorism, there are also those who witnessed and traumatized by what they saw. Number of secondary victims, and among adults and children much higher than direct. This is the basic calculation of terrorists. Children who watched TV during the hostage crisis in Beslan and then did not sleep at night, refused to go out and, of course, go to school the next day were the most prominent secondary victims.

Memo to parents

• If children are afraid to go to kindergarten or school, must find a way to leave their homes for 1-3 days. Learn they will not be able to. Moreover, the frightened children will induce each other to infect their fears and improbable assumptions.

• With your child to talk about what scares him. And the first thing to do - is to squeeze it to yourself: "Do not worry, I'm with you! I will not let anyone to hurt her baby. " Do not be afraid to take it at night to his bed. For a night or two, he does not get used, but will feel secure and comforted.

• You must tell the children that other children in need and to inculcate solidarity. Include toy collection sites to victims, write a letter or make a card - a good way to active confrontation disaster.

• But! If the child is shocked, scared, no need for him to oppress and torment the conversation. When will the most acute phase, you need to talk. In the meantime, you just need to stay with him and try anything to please or distract: toy, movie, book.

• Do not forget to say that the fear of terrorists (as well as other hazards) - this is normal: "Anyone would be scared in your place," "adults, especially how to live and work in conditions of danger. Doctors, firefighters, rescuers and specially long this study. And when they were young, they too were afraid. Maybe even more than anyone else, so decided to grow and help people. "

In some Moscow schools students 3-4 class wrote letters to children in Beslan, in which were words of support and admiration for the courage of their peers: "This is a great sorrow that unites us," "The tragedy for us all," "The terrorists - it's inhuman monsters, beasts, which encroached on the most expensive - a life that many only just begun, "" All the bad, evil and insignificant tried to take precedence over the most light and good, "" Terrorism - it's the worst thing in the world, "" Moscow, Budeonovsk, Volgodonsk, Dagestan, and now this list was added another city to our homeland - Beslan. " The children wrote: "You have to be strong and courageous," "Hurry recovering," "health, happiness, a quick recovery and return home," "Hold on, you - the real heroes." All students showed solidarity, support and share the sorrow of his peers.