Similar Posts
Sharing – The ACEs Questionnaire Is Missing These Types of Trauma
When I think about Monika’s point, and my own look at the numbers, I repeat what I said back then, when looking at one individual, the ACE survey is never the whole story. There are lots of childhood experiences that go unaccounted for, there are individual levels of resilience that are not accounted for, and there are early interventions that are not considered. One traumatic experience equals one traumatic experience in the final number, regardless of whether that experience was immediately followed up with support and maybe even therapy, or if it was ignored and maybe even repeated. There are numerous factors beyond simply answering more than 4 questions yes and assuming you’re an addict, or not answering enough questions yes and assuming you aren’t. It is much more complicated than that.
The ACE information is important though because it points us back to that childhood trauma and says “what happened to you?” when treating an individual for depression, or addiction, so that we can include that in our healing. What we want to be careful with is turning it into a blunt instrument when there is still so much not being accounted for within it.
Does Childhood Trauma Disrupt Our Storytelling Abilities?
I will admit, in healthcare, these two types of narrative incoherence could cause a problem. How would a medical professional move forward with a diagnosis when our response to the first question is to dump an overwhelming amount of possibly relevant, possibly not, information, or to dismiss any symptoms? It really would be difficult to know. We know that the folks who get to the quickest, and best, healthcare are the ones who come in with details like what is wrong, how long it’s been going on, what happened previously to an illness or injury, etc. Trauma survivors typically struggle with exactly that.
This is only one way where not being able to tell a story in a coherent, effective, way hurts survivors. It blocks us from legal proceedings, as I said before, and it blocks us from being understood by those closest to us quite often. So, if you really want to connect with others, and maybe get better healthcare, learn to tell stories. That’s how the world communicates. But, if you’re confronted with someone who is struggling to tell a coherent story, consider what kind of trauma they may be dealing with, and have a little patience.
Link – Why a third of UK employees keep mental illness a secret at work
This is a nice thought, but it’s not even close to the reality of the workplace in the UK or US. Managers are rarely given any training, and many would do the exact opposite of what this article suggests, by getting rid of someone they think might become a “problem” due to their mental health…
Link – No Quick Fixes: Evidence-Based Treatment for Trauma and PTSD
This is a hard truth for many survivors, but a truth nonetheless. “Talk therapy” is hard work, for person in therapy and therapist alike, but it remains the most evidence-based and effective treatment in the long term for mental health conditions, from anxiety to trauma and back again. I cannot stress enough, that healing is…
Sharing – Writing can improve mental health – here’s how
I would imagine that part of the reason that no one agrees on the why and how has a lot to do with the fact that it might actually be different for different types of people.
For example, I know some folks who benefit from writing out their emotions, as the article talks about. But there are also those of us who benefit not necessarily from directly writing our emotions to release them, but gain self-awareness through focusing our thoughts to communicate them in written form.
Maybe, there are just a lot of ways writing is good for you, mentally?
