When a family is split up and one child goes on to make it into adulthood, there is a certain amount of angst, which is a little common when there are two siblings, but not for families where both children have made it to adulthood.
For example, if a couple have two children but one of them dies, the family has to deal with grief, but the other child might not.
If the child who died doesn’t make it to childhood, it will never make it back.
In other words, when there is another child, there will be more grief and more mourning.
But when there’s only one child, and that child dies, there won’t be that level of grief.
For some families, even the one child death means the loss of a sibling.
“When you have two siblings that are dead, it’s not necessarily a loss to the family,” says John R. Johnson, author of the book What If?
How Family Structure and Children’s Health Impact the Future.
“It can just be that you have an extra sibling who is missing out on something, or there’s a loss of an activity or an activity that a sibling is involved in.”
In some cases, when a child does make it out of childhood, there’s an added layer of trauma for the family.
If a child goes through a rough patch in childhood and the family isn’t able to support him or her, the child may feel lost.
“In many families, when the child goes off to college or a new job, they will have a much easier time in the relationship with their parents,” says Johnson.
“And, because of the distance, it is not the kind of relationship that is easy to build upon.”
For these reasons, it can be difficult for a family to maintain a relationship with a sibling who has gone on to adulthood, especially if the siblings have been separated for so long.
“There is a huge psychological toll that can be taken on a sibling in their mid-twenties,” says Kelly Schmitt, a psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
“If you’re a parent of a child in that age group, you are probably aware of the fact that your child may have to confront a lot of negative thoughts, and may not be able to cope well with that.”
The Psychological Toll On Your Child’s Life: An Overview Of Psychological Trauma Related Articles 1.
“The Science of Psychological Traumatic Stress.”
Harvard University Press, 2018.
2.
“Research Shows Stress Can Make People Feel Worse.”
American Psychological Association, 2018, p. 25.
3.
“Trauma: A Neuroscience Perspective.”
Schmitt et al., p. 23.
4.
“Neuroscientists have long understood that stress hormones affect brain cells.
Now, they’re discovering that stress also influences the brain’s emotional response.
In a new study, scientists from Northwestern University found that stress and the hormone cortisol impact the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex, which plays a crucial role in regulating emotional responses.”
What happens when we’re exposed to stress, for example, and cortisol triggers stress-related physiological changes in the anterior cortex, the part of the brain that regulates emotions?
“It seems like these processes occur as a consequence of the stressor itself,” Schmitt says.
“So, the brain is responding to stress in a way that’s analogous to how we respond to the physical environment.
The stressor triggers a series of biological processes that increase the intensity of stress responses in the brain.
These processes, in turn, then trigger a cascade of biological changes that trigger the release of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
In short, the stress response is an activated physiological response that results in physiological changes that lead to the release and/or expression of hormones.”
The Neuroscience of Stress: What We Know About the Biology of Stress, Cortisol, and Adrenaline Related Articles 5.
“How Stress and Stress Hormones Affect Your Brain.”
University of Washington, 2018; “A Neurobiology of Stress.”
Schritschneider et al, p 5.
6.
“Cortisol: A Neurobiology.”
Schmitz et al. p 5, 10.
7.
“Hormones and the Brain: What You Need to Know About Stress.”
University at Buffalo, 2018 8.
“Why Does Stress Cause Stress?”
Yale University Press.
9.
“A Comprehensive Guide to Chronic Stress.”
Wiley-Blackwell, 2018 10.
“Stress, Emotion and the Endocrine System.”
Schitt, et al..
p 9, 17.
11.
“Genetic Risk for the Development of Stress and Depressive Symptoms.”
Science Daily, 2018 12.
“Understanding the Brain’s Response to Stress.”
National Institute of Mental Health.
13.
“Does Your Brain Work Better Without a Child?
Science News, 2017.
ScienceDaily. p. 12″
Brain Development and Mental Health.”
ScienceDaily. p. 12