Synthesis Sunday: I Just Can't Delve Into Trauma Right Now
Faced with yet another tragic community event repetitively referred to on every single media platform imaginable, I figured it was time to start back into my Trauma-Informed Care information - yet again - but I haven't been able to do it. I just can't right now.
Trauma is something that happens to everyone - whether it is primary, secondary, or vicarious. I am particularly prone to vicarious trauma - effect of a traumatic event that does not happen to me but that I am exposed to over and over again. This is one of the reasons why I do not have cable or television services - I cannot avoid situations when they come into my home via every single outlet possible. I also do not listen to the news on the radio anymore - too many emotions brought up by just hearing specific voices.
Trauma is not just shootings or injuries or abuse. There are things that are traumatizing for one person that do not traumatize another person. Trauma is personal, it is different for every person, and it can happen at anytime to anyone.
At this point, reflecting on yet another senseless act where one person acted in a selfish manner to inflict pain on many others, I am starting to get myself all riled up and emotional again. This is why I can't - well, won't - focus on my current reading right now. When I am processing this information, I immediately think of the people all over this country who face the idea of not having their loved one around because of the actions that others inflicted upon them. I start to go through many different emotions. Until I am a bit more used to the idea of trauma, I cannot work within it.
I think that knowing this about myself is important, and I encourage others to examine themselves. It is important to identify those things that make me want to be a therapist as well as what makes me squirm. I can go confidently into my therapy life when I know what I can handle as a therapist and what I cannot handle. With the identification of things that traumatize me, I know what types of clients I can serve without experiencing much secondary trauma or vicarious trauma. I know what types of clients will cause me to slip from the role of therapist into the role of victim. I know to refer those clients to another therapist who is more able to provide meaningful therapy.
I will eventually get back to my reading plan, but, in the meanwhile, I think I'll find something else to read.
Trauma is something that happens to everyone - whether it is primary, secondary, or vicarious. I am particularly prone to vicarious trauma - effect of a traumatic event that does not happen to me but that I am exposed to over and over again. This is one of the reasons why I do not have cable or television services - I cannot avoid situations when they come into my home via every single outlet possible. I also do not listen to the news on the radio anymore - too many emotions brought up by just hearing specific voices.
Trauma is not just shootings or injuries or abuse. There are things that are traumatizing for one person that do not traumatize another person. Trauma is personal, it is different for every person, and it can happen at anytime to anyone.
At this point, reflecting on yet another senseless act where one person acted in a selfish manner to inflict pain on many others, I am starting to get myself all riled up and emotional again. This is why I can't - well, won't - focus on my current reading right now. When I am processing this information, I immediately think of the people all over this country who face the idea of not having their loved one around because of the actions that others inflicted upon them. I start to go through many different emotions. Until I am a bit more used to the idea of trauma, I cannot work within it.
I think that knowing this about myself is important, and I encourage others to examine themselves. It is important to identify those things that make me want to be a therapist as well as what makes me squirm. I can go confidently into my therapy life when I know what I can handle as a therapist and what I cannot handle. With the identification of things that traumatize me, I know what types of clients I can serve without experiencing much secondary trauma or vicarious trauma. I know what types of clients will cause me to slip from the role of therapist into the role of victim. I know to refer those clients to another therapist who is more able to provide meaningful therapy.
I will eventually get back to my reading plan, but, in the meanwhile, I think I'll find something else to read.
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