Factors that Reduce the Effects Stress

It is possible to have positive outcomes even if a child has experienced the negative effects of stress. Loving support can counteract damage caused by stress. A strong, supportive family network or a strong, stable adult figure can make a difference to a child who has been exposed to violence, neglect or other extreme stress. The brain has plasticity that makes it possible to potentially repair some damage caused by stress and negative experiences. New synapses, or wiring, can be formed. The brain is resilient and can bounce back even after stressful experiences. For a child who experiences trauma or chronic stress early in life, the past need not determine the future.

As Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D of the Child Trauma Academy wrote, "When you look at children who come out of terrible environments and do well, you find that someone in their lives somehow instilled in them the attitude that they aren't helpless, that they aren't powerless, that they can do something."