Coping Mechanisms Episode 1: Secrets in a Shoe Shine Box

Humor is a coping mechanism.  Listen to Little Eddie as he tells a funny tale of how he found safety in a pile of old photos that he pretended were members of his "normal" family.  Children who experience trauma and who have high levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) are often misunderstood during moments of crisis as they attempt to manage their emotions.  In this moment children (students in a public school) employ coping mechanisms.  How the adult responds to these coping mechanisms determines if there are added stressors to the already high levels of anxiety, fear and emotional instability.  A third factor is the secondary trauma and coping mechanisms that enter the room through the adult (teacher).