Similar Posts
Link – How weird sleep schedules can affect our mental health
I’ve seen this, and it’s a real struggle. Over the last few years, I can trace every instance of the flu to an overseas trip. I can also track my mood similarly. I know when I’ve been traveling too much when everyone at the airport makes me angry. I know enough to take the cue…
Sharing – The Brain Benefits of Social Connection
This is why I harp on this quite a bit. We lose people to depression and mental health struggles when they are disconnected from the people in their lives. Our best prevention is to remain connected, yet it’s become so easy today to be disconnected from each other. (I am perhaps more guilty of this than most, I admit. I should spend more time taking action on the tips in this article too.)
Sharing – New research challenges the idea that memories of childhood maltreatment can’t be trusted
The takeaway, of course, is that we should believe survivors when they talk about their trauma; they do know what they are talking about. Secondly, maybe we should stop trying to convince ourselves that young children will move past it and likely not even remember it when they’re an adult.
That’s not how trauma works.
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.
