Pulling The Trigger On Trauma

From Lanae Rivers-Woods, Consultant:

Over the years, I’ve witnessed many companies and lives destroyed by life’s inevitable traumas and the shock waves that continue through the years. Sole proprietors are especially at risk of “losing it all” from the after effects of extreme stress, however, this doesn’t have to happen.

With a little organization and self-analysis, you can manage your company around these issues in a way that takes care of both you and your clients. You start by addressing the trauma head-on, accepting that it has changed you, addressing how it affects others around you and planning for these issues in the future.

Here is a basic framework for identifying the and working with trauma over time.

Know your trauma anniversaries

• Step 1: Create a list significant dates associated with sever trauma such as accidents, deaths, divorces, abuse, trials, violence, etc. If you don’t know the exact date do the research to find out when it was. Your subconscious remembers when things happen even if you don’t, so bring the important dates out of the dark.

• Step 2: Rate these dates 1-5. 1 being the least stressful and 5 being the most stressful. Take your time doing this. Consider not just what happened at that moment, but what else stemmed from the situation. Maybe the you had a car accident that hurt your neck, but the time off work caused you to lose your house. Which date do you really tie the stress too?

• Step 3: Assess your behavior surrounding every date with a level 5 trauma value next too it. During that time of year do you have trouble returning phone calls? Are you more likely to make rash decisions? Do you over schedule your clients? Have you fired someone every year on that date like clockwork?

Now that you know what times of year you will most likely operate with compromised decision making skills, it is time to plan for the event rather then pretend nothing will happen.

Plan ahead for your behavior

• Step 1: Share the list of dates with a level 5 response with key members of your staff and be open about what behavior they might expect surrounding said dates. Examples: “Next month will be difficult for me. I may have trouble sleeping and issues with decision making. I may need to take time off to avoid poor performance or ineffective management habits. I want to do what’s best for my employees and my company, and trying to pretending that I’m okay is not what’s best.” Ask for their ideas on ways to lighten your workload without overwhelming the staff.

• Step 2: Keep your scheduling light during level 5 trauma anniversaries. This is not the time to schedule big sales meetings, staff reviews or a big product launch. Pushing through these trauma anniversaries will only lead to poor, reflex decision-making that will damage your bottom line, just don’t do it. Plan ahead, be responsible.

• Step 3: Have a back-up plan and support system in place. If you suspect you may react more strongly to the anniversary due to such things as media coverage, unrelated exterior stress, or because the trauma happened recently, then pull in outside help. Create a system for temporarily managing your clients so you can meet their needs, while still meeting your own. If you need to, hire a temp or bring in help for that week only. Be clear about the situation and accept help in planning the best way to get through it.

• Step 4: Get back on the horse. Once the date has passed move quickly to return all systems to normal. This is the most important part, don’t prolong the process. Practice a quick and effect return to normal company behavior. It is important you demonstrate to both your clients and your staff that stepping back was a momentary move and not a permanent desire to do less.

When you model this behavior for your staff you will build the trust necessary for them to share the issues they struggle with and build a framework for your company to deal effectively with life’s trauma’s as they unfold in the future.

Throughout this process it is important to remember there is no shame in trauma and there is no shame is addressing how it has affected your life. It is a basic fact of the human experience and if addressed, it can be managed and addressed in a healthy productive way over time. You will also find that identifying these dates and your responses associated with them will lead to smoother transitions through them and eventually they may have no negative impact at all.

To learn more about the effects of trauma on the brain during trauma anniversaries I recommend the following two links:

http://dartcenter.org/content/self-study-unit-3-photography-trauma-3

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/emotional_psychological_trauma.htm

Client Profile: Authors, Gloria Burke and Katherine Burk

Children's authors Gloria Burke and Katherine Burk are a mother-daughter writing team who have recently begun winning over the Northwest with Finding Mr. Ness, the premier book of their Tilania Travelers Series.


The Authors.

Like the characters in their book, Finding Mr. Ness, Katherine Burk and Gloria Burke have embarked on an exciting journey together. What began as a way for mother and daughter to connect despite the miles between them has turned into a successful cooperative writing practice, and it’s only just begun.

Katherine spent several years in the political arena and the cellular telecommunications industry before taking on a new career direction: raising a growing family. Now she’s active in her Pacific Northwest community, contributing time and energy to her children’s schools, extracurricular activities and other charitable organizations. Writing and illustration are Katherine’s way of passing on some of the magic of her childhood to her own children.

Gloria has always been involved with child development. A mother and a grandmother, she’s also a recently retired Child Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, and was the Medical Director at a charitable therapeutic nursery school. She’s been actively engaged with writing in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. Co-writing books with her daughter Katherine is a natural extension of her love for family, children and creative expression.

Finding Mr. Ness is Katherine and Gloria’s first publication together. With over 800 miles between them the process is sometimes challenging, but always rewarding. They are currently writing the next book in The Tilania Travelers Series, The Scrolls of Tilania.

The First Book.

Finding Mr. Ness is the first book in the Tilania Traveler Series, a series of chapter books written for children ages 7-10. The book is a winning combination of excitement and adventure that will capture children’s attention and keep them planted in their chairs, fully entertained. It’s full of captivating places like the Reflective Reef, Nessen and the Isle of Hearts, scientific devices like puncture-proof wetsuits and weather machines, and not-quite-familiar creatures like Kalya who’s “a cross between a sea turtle and a crab.” (Page 44) Reminiscent of other memorable stories, Finding Mr. Ness transports the reader to another world that seems unreal yet almost possible.

The Storyline.

Clayton and Annie are best friends whose curiosity about an old microscope, a postage stamp, and an eccentric scientist named Mr. Ness soon leads them on a journey into the strange land of Tilania. Once there they are swept into a desperate attempt to save a doomed civilization. Their race against time depends on the completion of Mr. Ness' powerful invention and the destruction of his archenemy.