World Mental Health Day is October 10th

The objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. So let's talk about it.

A person's mental and emotional well-being is essential for a healthy life. When individuals struggle with mental illness or substance abuse, it profoundly affects all aspects of their lives and the people they care about.

When discussing mental health, another term often arises: resilience. We discussed this before and dispelled the myth that those with PTSD are "not resilient."

Resilience is not an innate quality; it is developed through facing challenges and overcoming adversity throughout one's lifetime. However, being resilient does not mean that a person is immune to difficulties or distress in their life. It means that they have the ability to adapt in the face of trauma, tragedy, and threats.

Remember that word, adapt. It’s a verb, an action word. It means we have to do something.

To promote resilience, we have to develop protective factors like exercise, a healthy diet, a healthy sleep schedule, good communication, and most important of them all, a healthy support network. 

We may not always be able to sleep eight hours, stick to a healthy diet, or maintain a good schedule at the gym. Life happens when we make our best plans, so those can’t be the only strategies we turn to. 

Resilience is active, right? So we need to move to the next item on our list. A healthy support network.

When we’re struggling and in need of help, we have to communicate our needs. And that’s where having a healthy support network comes in. There’s not enough sleeping or eating right in the world that is going to fortify a person against the effects of trauma. To borrow a phrase, “it takes a village.” 

When there are people ready and willing to step in and help (peers, partners, friends, and/or family), you are better able to cope with difficult situations. Social support has been shown to reduce our level of stress during troubling situations. And knowing someone “has your back” creates the opening to do the hardest thing possible. It allows you to be open and ask for help when you need it.

Remember, resilience isn’t “toughing it out through the worst situations”. It’s having a strategy and support system in place...and using it when you need it.

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We value your feedback and ideas! 

Reach out on our Community Facebook Page!

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“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD

Let's Understand what Compassion Fatigue is

Compassion Fatigue was coined by Charles Figley in the 1980s and refers to a set of negative psychological symptoms that caregivers experience in the course of their work while being exposed to direct traumatic events or through secondary trauma. 

Compassion fatigue is an erosive process, not attributed to a single exposure to trauma. It is the result of ongoing, repeated exposure to traumatic situations, whether direct or indirect. Over time, the act of providing care in the context of human suffering and trauma wears down the individual's psychological resilience, leaving the care worker in a combined state of burnout that leads to more serious mental health conditions such PTSD, anxiety or depression. 

Essentially, the continuous exposure to the trauma of others may lead care work professionals to manifest the same or similar symptoms as the trauma survivors they have helped. 

This places many occupations such as law enforcement, first responders, healthcare professionals, teachers, and community service workers right in the crosshairs if they have the risk factors to be affected by it. Between 40% and 85% of helping professionals develop vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and/or high rates of traumatic symptoms, according to compassion fatigue expert Francoise Mathieu. 

During a TED Talk in 2017, Patricia Smith, the founder of the Compassion Fatigue Awareness project, had this to say,

“Caregivers are not good at asking for help. Asking for help is hard, no matter who you are. For nurses, doctors, teachers and more, the idea of leaving work can seem like an impossibility. You may feel guilty or that you are abandoning your patients or students. But if you are struggling with drug or alcohol use, you need help too. Your clients, patients and students will be happy for you.” 

Some common signs of compassion fatigue include exhaustion, anger and irritability, negative coping behaviors such as alcohol or drug abuse, emotional detachment or numbness, burnout, and impaired decision-making abilities.

So how can you prevent compassion fatigue from taking over your life? Here are some key things to keep in mind:

1. Take care of your own well-being: As a caregiver, it's natural to put others' needs before your own. However, it's crucial to prioritize your own mental and physical health to avoid reaching a breaking point.

2. Acknowledge your limitations: You're only human, and there's only so much you can do. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it or delegate tasks if possible.

3. Practice self-care: Make time for activities that bring you joy and help you relax. Whether it's exercising, reading a book, or spending time with loved ones, self-care is essential for recharging your emotional batteries.

4. Don't ignore warning signs:

• Depression
• Frustration
• Feelings of uselessness
• Cynicism
• Feeling disconnected from others
• Worries you’re failing at your job
• Constantly feeling exhausted or tired
• Feeling the need to drink alcohol or do drugs

If you notice any of the warning signs mentioned above, don't brush them off. Address them and seek help before they escalate. Seek help from resources like supervisors, peer-support groups, or clinical practitioners before it becomes too overwhelming.

Compassion fatigue may be a common occurrence in caregiving professions, but it doesn't have to take control of your life.

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How do you handle compassion fatigue?  

We value your feedback and ideas! 

Reach out on our Community Facebook Page!

*****

“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD

Rumors about PTSD that are NOT true

 

Unfortunately, there are many rumors about PTSD that are NOT true, and here is one we hear often: "People who have a history of trauma cannot be high-functioning members of society." Let's talk about why this is a load of bull:

When we define trauma and what someone with a trauma history looks like, we often miss out on seeing the truth of their personal history. We expect to see someone showing some form of self-destructive behavior in an attempt to self-sooth. But that is not always the case. 

Trauma is often thought of as an isolated event: a car crash, sexual assault, or maybe something happening during military service. While singular events can be traumatic, we’re ignoring a whole host of ongoing situations and relational traumas a person can experience. Many of which are outlined in Acknowledge and Heal: A Women-Focused Guide To Understanding PTSD 

When a person is exposed to ongoing trauma, their mind tries to adapt. It’s the brain’s job to keep us alive, so in situations where we cannot escape our trauma, the brain switches from fight or flight, or to a more adaptive "tend and befriend" mode, allowing us to remain as safe as possible in the ongoing traumatic situation. 

In short, we develop coping mechanisms to keep everything peaceful. And, as long as things are relatively calm in our lives, we appear “normal.” 

In some cases, our focus is shifted outward, toward the things we can control: grades, promotions, seeking independence, and financial security. Many trauma survivors become fiercely independent because of the betrayal of the trauma they experienced left them knowing the only person they could rely on was themselves (e.g. a former child of abusive or neglectful parents). To a spectator, these individuals seem like they have it all together. They couldn’t possibly be struggling with PTSD, right? 

Wrong. 

If they have had to lean on self-sufficiency for survival, it is likely that by the time they desperately need help, they have perfected their mask of indifference and fortified their emotional barriers to the point that they have become reflexes. No longer aware of the walls they throw up, these people can be very difficult to diagnose. 

Either way the pendulum swings, self-destructive or super high-functioning, the person who has experienced trauma (singular or ongoing) is attempting to compensate for it. And that may work for them for many years, until it doesn’t. 

The bottom line is that being outwardly high-functioning and needing trauma recovery work are not mutually exclusive. Just because someone appears to be high functioning, it doesn’t mean they don’t suffer.

What is your experience with high-functioning PTSD? 

We value your feedback and ideas! Reach out on our Community Facebook Page!

*****

“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD