Confronting our invisible traumas once they become visible

Prior to COVID19, family, community, and world demands, were already tasking many individuals. Today, our health, racial, homelessness, and unemployment pandemics are burgeoning with rapid speed. On top of all of this, depending on the part of the world, one must contend with fires, smoke, and/or storms. It all boils down to TRAUMA.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.” Let’s make no mistake about it, trauma can raise its head in situations that we may not know or understand. Yet, its someone else’s reality; their story. Here’s one such story of the founder of Healing Acres Never Again, Charlene Kay Fouts. One who has experienced and overcome physical trauma, Fouts shares straight from her heart. She is my guest on this edition of Living Well.

As we all, in one way or another, wrestle with our individual journeys during this unprecedented season of the lack of touch and relationship as we’ve known and depended upon; of so much illness and loss; we cannot lose hope. Instead, let’s do our best to stay connected, even with distancing and masks. Solicit help from friends and loved ones. Then, be available for them. We truly are all in this together. Relationships and maintaining their health and connectivity are vitally important to successfully “rising from the ashes,” figuratively and literally.

That said, it is especailly important that we find ways to remove the stressors, from unavoidable complications, without taking them out on our loved ones; our most precious gifts. On the contrary, do things to reassure that love and not dismantle it. As I type, I’m thinking of ways to do the same.