There has been an enormous amount of press and publicity about the Ebola virus and the lives this terrible communicable disease has recently claimed. The current statistic reports that presently the Ebola death toll nears 1,000 people worldwide. Thank goodness, steps are being taken to overcome this horrible killer. Lots of discussion, awareness, worry, work, research and … Continue reading
Category Archives: Second-Hand Shock
Vicarious Trauma and its Treatment
Sorrow at Sandy Hook: One Path for Children’s Trauma Relief
I am trying so hard to find a way to deal with my own trauma and grief from the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. One way for me to feel better during a time like this is to try to help. As a mental health professional, one way to get through my own sorrow … Continue reading
The Bystander Effect
I believe that the Bystander Effect needs to be considered as seriously as leaving the scene of an accident or leaving the scene of a crime. Continue reading
9/11 Still an Issue a Decade Later
Can you imagine that helping professionals and other caring witnesses are still suffering trauma responses a decade after the 9/11 tragedy? That certainly speaks to how insidious the effects of vicarious trauma can be! It also demonstrates a saddening lack of compassion and absence of resources for our heroes. Continue reading
Suicide and the Client Who Never Was
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please remember that suicidal thinking is the result of being in an extreme shame attack. The suffering person is grappling with life-issues or events that provide a context of seeing oneself as unlovable and worthless. Continue reading
Virtual Vexation: Is Social Media Endangering Your Health?
Last week, I shut down my computer, packed a small bag and headed for the mountains to hang with my dear friends and let my brain stop aching. I felt like I was coming down from a serious binge and had to heal from a heavy hangover. What was the drug? Social Media; a “drug” … Continue reading
The Mad Ramblings of a Pedestal Professional
When I come into the door after a long day at the office, I am emotionally inverted. I feel as though my feelings have been sucked into a vacuum and I can hardly connect with my own family who needs my attention as well. Sometimes I feel numb. Sometimes I think that if one more person asks one more thing of me I will scream. Continue reading
Stress andTrauma: Second-Hand Shock
We think Second-Hand Shock Syndrome needs to be identified and treated as its own illness. Lots of folks are treated for illnesses such as arthritis, cancer, heart, disease, obesity, anxiety and depression, who we believe began their downhill descent with some form of Second- Hand Shock Syndrome. Continue reading
Love and the Long Hot Summer
Sometimes our love-relationships are like the long, hot desert summer. Love can be intense and searing with hot passion. It can include dry spells that leave us, as partners, quenching for replenishment. Continue reading
Anger Management: Pity and the Pedestal
Some people substitute pity and the pedestal for their own legitimate experience of anger at someone’s bad behavior. Continue reading
