Trauma across the board - Part 1
Dear clients,
Trauma refers to any negative event that overwhelms a person's ability to cope with what is happening. Trauma affects people in different ways and each person will have their own way of processing what happened.
Trauma across the board highlights some of the main areas in which trauma exposure can occur. This blog will focus on the first three areas namely work, home and medical-related.
1) At Work
Trauma in the workplace refers to trauma that occurred either at work or as a result of your work. Some common examples of work trauma include sexual harassment, being fired, being suspended from work, receiving a demotion or deduction in pay, being discriminated against, witnessing or receiving an injury on duty, the death of a colleague, etc.
Witnessing, responding to, or hearing about the trauma of others can also result in a form of trauma known as "Secondary Traumatization." This can happen in any profession, however, it is most common amongst helping professionals (e.g. counselors, chaplains, doctors, etc.) and First Responders such as police officers, paramedics, firefighters, traffic officers, armed response officers, etc.
2) At Home
Trauma in the home refers to any trauma that occurs inside the home or at the hands of someone in your home/family. Common examples of this include domestic violence, sexual abuse, marital rape, the death of a family member or a pet, being rejected by or "cut off" from your family, divorce, separation, or having a family member move out.
Trauma in the home can also include a family member that goes missing or having a family member attempt, threaten to commit, or commit suicide. Suicide-related trauma is not just about losing someone to suicide, it also involves the trauma of rejection ("Why didn't the person love me enough to live?"), grief trauma and the trauma associated with the fallout.
For example, if the main breadwinner committed suicide, the family may lose their home. When a child commits suicide, parents will often get a divorce and this adds to the family's grief and trauma.
Hence, suicide is a multi-faceted trauma, which is significantly worsened when the person is discovered by loved ones.
3) Medical-related Trauma
Medical-related trauma refers to trauma that occurs as a result of a change in your physical well-being to the extent that it impacts your quality of life and your lifespan.
Some examples of this include physical injury, life-changing medical diagnosis (e.g. being told that you have cancer or HIV), terminal illness, amputation, sudden physical disability etc.
Medical-related trauma also encompasses pregnancy-related trauma. This can include an unexpected pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, birth complications (i.e. umbilical cord around the baby's neck), a cesarean section, post-delivery hemorrhaging (uncontrollable bleeding), an abortion etc.
Although trauma can be categorized into different groups, it is clear that trauma in one area will inevitably result in changes across the board.
Be blessed,
Madeleine