Exercise on Trauma

Write down on a piece of paper four values that you could not live with out. For example, mine are:

Faith/Spirituality
Family and Friends
Service
Laughter and being happy

Okay, now seriously, get a piece of paper and write them down.

Finished?

Now cross off one of those values that you will have to live without.

Pretty hard, right?

Now cross off another... and one more.

It was pretty difficult for me to cross off even one of my values from the list.

This is commonly what happens to a person who has experienced some type of trauma. Some of their most important values are stolen from them. Their life's paradigm shifts and their lens in which they view the world is forever changed. A traumatic event is "when a person experiences, witnesses, or is confronted with actual or threatened death or serious injury or a threat to the physical integrity of themselves or other". The person then responds with feelings of fear, helplessness, and vulnerability (info-trauma.org website). Considering this definition, many experiences can be traumatic and have the potential to impact people in completely different ways.

Based on a study on the prevalence of violence (Thoennes and Tjaden, 2000) it is estimated that over 1 million women and over 3 million men in the United States are physically assaulted each year. Additionally, it is estimated that over half of both men and women have experienced at least one traumatic incident in their life (Research on Women, Trauma and PTSD, 2009).

Given these statistics a traumatic incident will most likely impact our lives. If you or someone you know has experienced a traumatic event, there are great resources to help, some are listed below. As natural disasters, violence, rape, terrorism, political unrest, abuse, domination, discrimination, and war continue to exist, we are going to continue to need support.

RAINN
Helpguide
Veteran's Affairs
Traumatic Stress Network
International Society for Traumatic Stress

Book: Life After Trauma: A Workbook for Healing by Rosenbloom and Williams.

*I participated in this exercise lead by some of my peers at school and thought it offered an incredible perspective.