Friday, May 17, 2013

Daily Reading - Allen James' Daily Guide to Success series - "A Teacher's Daily Guide to Success"



Since it the last day of school most places around the area..May 18th's reading is taken from "A Teacher's Daily Guide to Success"....and somewhat appropriate : ) .... Following a traumatic event take time to regroup".

Certainly 9 months of teaching and working with children and adolescents on a daily basis is not necessarily traumatic....unless you've chosen the wrong career.

n. pl. trau·mas or trau·ma·ta (-m-t)
1. A serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident.
2. An emotional wound or shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to the psychological development of a person, often leading to neurosis.
3. An event or situation which causes great distress and disruption (merriam-webster.com)

When humans are exposed to trauma in whatever form it takes, responses can be as myriad as we humans are ourselves and as traumatic events are varied.

Maybe you:

Were a witness or were involved in the event.
Arrived upon the scene of the event.
Had a "near miss" or were almost involved in the event.
Knew or know others who were killed, harmed, or involved in some way.
Have a relationship with family or friends of victims.
Have heard about the event through media or friends.
Are reminded of other traumatic incidents in your life by this event.

Trauma reactions are normal reactions to extremely abnormal circumstances. It is difficult to predict what type of trauma reactions you will experience following a disastrous event. It is important to allow yourself permission to have your reactions, and take care of them both by yourself and by asking for help from others, as best you can. Many people find it helpful to have information about what constitutes a typical reaction to trauma.

Typical reactions may include:

Heightened anxiety or fear
Irritability, restlessness, or over-excitability
Feelings of sadness, moodiness, more crying than usual
Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness
Feelings of numbness or detachment
"Survivor guilt", or feelings of self-blame that you escaped the tragedy
Re-experiencing of the traumatic event, possibly including:
intrusive thoughts or images of the event
distressing dreams or nightmares
flashbacks about the event
distress when exposed to events that remind you of the trauma
Feelings of estrangement or isolation from others
Hypervigilance (feelings especially attuned to events around you, scanning environment for possible danger)
Difficulty concentrating
Feelings confused or distracted, slower thought than normal
Heacaches
Nausea or upset stomach
Exaggerated startle response (tendency to startle easily at loud noises)
Fatigue or feelings slowed down
Hyperactivity, or less activity
Heightened tendency to behave irritably
Withdrawal, social isolation
Avoidance of activities or places that remind you of traumatic event
Insomnia
Strong need to talk about the event, read accounts about the event

Keep reminding yourself your responses are normal responses to a stressful situation. Give yourself permission to do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself. Your body and mind will tell you what you need to do--your job is to listen to them.

Get plenty of rest when you're tired, and use the energy you have if you experience hyperactivity at times. Don't force yourself to be active if you don't have the energy, or rest when you feel tired.

Talk to people as much as you need to. Reach out. You may experience a need to talk repetitively about the trauma. If you can find someone who is willing to listen, use her/him to talk to about how you are feeling. If you do not have anyone in your support network to use, consider calling a crisis line, going to a crisis center, or using other community resources--they are there to help you.

Spend time with others, even if you don't feel like talking. It can be very comforting to know you're not alone. Try to find someone or someplace which feels safe and comforting to you, and spend time there.

Don't make any major life decisions or big life changes if at all possible. This is not a time to put pressure on yourself to do anything out of the ordinary. Concentrate on taking care of yourself.

Allow yourself to cry, rage, and express your feelings when you need to. Try not to numb your feelings with alcohol or drugs. This will only complicate your situation.

It is important to know recovering from a trauma is a process may take a long time. The initial response of disruption (perhaps alternating with numbness) may last days, weeks, or longer. Don't be surprised if you continue to experience these reactions for longer than you expected. It is impossible to predict how long you will experience effects of the trauma, but usually trauma reactions gradually decrease over time. If you experience another stressful event while recovering from this trauma, you may find your trauma reactions reappear for awhile. This re-activation, or delayed trauma response, is perfectly normal.

At any time during this process, you may find it useful to ask for professional help form a counselor or mental health professional. There are some circumstances under which you should definitely get professional help:

if you find yourself feeling suicidal or contemplating suicide
if you find your daily functioning continues to be impaired so you cannot carry out your life tasks
if post-trauma fears interfere with your ability to return to certain places or situations which remind you of the trauma

Whatever the case, take time to regroup....

Keep looking up. : ) AJ

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