How might we work together?

When past or current life stressors or traumas influence living, we can feel distanced from the ideas, actions and connections that we know support our wellbeing and sense of who we are - as individuals, families, or as communities.
 
In our work together, we can look at how these can be reclaimed, restored and extended, by:

• considering the effects of what has, and is happening, and what forces beyond one’s self are having an impact
• honouring the meanings you make of your experiences and their effects
• paying attention to what is most important to you - your preferences, intentions and ethics in living
• exploring how these, along with your skills, knowledges, experience and supportive connections, assist restoration of what has gone missing in the face of hard times
• noticing and naming the physical effects of stress and/or trauma, and discovering how best to shrink their negative impacts.

1. Effects of Stress and trauma

​There can be many experiences that bring stress and it can come in lumps - if only the universe could learn to send us one challenge at a time!
Neurologically, a sense of stress releases adrenaline to tense our muscles and get the heart rate up to get things done. That is great in small doses but not helpful over long periods of time. If high stress continues we can also experience the effects  of elevation of cortisol levels. Too much of all this going on can cause a range health issues and  symptoms that might look like what some people refer to as anxiety or depression or burnout.
The bottom line is how do we, as individuals, families, communities and governments make sure there are ways to limit stress bumps in everyone’s lives and ease the burden when they turn up.

​Trauma refers to an event or events where a threat overwhelms someone’s capacity to be, or feel safe.
That might be a single incident or it could be an ongoing situation where safety is not assured and threat/harm is recurring.
Not every dangerous situation results in trauma and not all trauma results in ongoing negative effects.
It is common, however, for some aftereffects to follow danger/harm. Sleep disturbances, feeling constantly on alert, difficulty concentrating, changes in socialisation and in sense of self are common.
Sensory ‘Flashbacks’ of sudden memories of the event might occur. If these don’t start to settle, it is important to seek support.
Danger can be understood not only in a physical sense but also in terms of attacks upon one’s personal integrity, so that ongoing experiences of put-downs, belittling, insulting, failing to support or acknowledge, especially in childhood, can also result forms of trauma which interfere with sense of trust - both of others and of self-judgement.

2. ​RECOGNISING  NORMAL RESPONSES TO ABNORMAL SITUATIONS

Yes, that tree is upside-down! So, not what you are expecting?
Expectations and pressures can invite people to think there is something wrong with them when they are responding to stresses or traumas but these are really normal responses to abnormal situations. 

Capacity to do anything changes day-to-day. It is affected by lots of things, including personal health, increased workloads, unexpected changes, the illness or death of important others, other forms of loss- expected and unexpected, conflicts, natural disasters, abuse, insecure housing, lack of support - or a whole heap of other possible events.

It is important to recognise that it is normal to experience responses to all these situations - whether they are current or happened in the past. 




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Recognising the negative impact of stressful or traumatic situations and events on wellbeing and sense of self is important. We can get distanced from our usual practices of care and connection under such circumstances. Finding time to consider some of the layers that can build up following stress and trauma can invite consideration of organic influences, stress response management and our internal ecological sustainability.  Here are some thoughts.
​If you are not safe or feeling respected for who you are,
​what practical support do you need to establish greater safety and respect?

Recognising ORGANIC INFLUENCES

Healthy high-5!

​There are a number of basic organic factors that influence how well we do day-to-day.
​If we don’t seem OK, it is important to check in on these aspects of care which might otherwise go unnoticed:
1. Enough good-quality sleep and quiet-time
2.Adequate nutrition and hydration
3. Regular movement and quality of breathing
4. Safe use of prescribed medications or any recreational substances
5. Regular health check-ups (e.g. some deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, or changes in thyroid function, can have big impacts on mood and attention).

Managing the stress response

Danger or discomfort?

Each of us has an internal security system which has only one job - to keep us as safe as possible. Its job is to check for threat in the here-and-now and if it thinks you are in danger, it automatically turns on a physiological state called the ‘stress response’ to help get you safe as quickly as possible.
If you FEEL unsafe but there doesn’t seem to be any danger, it can be confusing - what people call panic attacks is an example - danger perceived but no apparent danger to respond to!
The security system  is enthusiastic in its job but also kind of dumb because it can’t read changes over time in our capabilities and in our living contexts, so sometimes it makes mistakes!
It remembers moments of threat from the past and can get our system ready to evade danger in the now, even if that danger is no longer present. Sometimes, it can make this mistake when we are particularly stressed and experiencing a discomfort rather than a danger. It IS very enthusiastic on our behalf!
The stress response is only useful if we are in immediate physical danger. It can get in the way of good decision-making if it turns up at other times.
​How do we notice and name when the stress response is switched on but doesn’t have a job to do? How do we switch it off?

​​Resting and restoring self

Internal ecological sustainability

While there is much ecological talk about survival of the planet, we don’t seem to have the same conversations about our personal internal ecological sustainabilities!
We live in a culture which invites the idea that, to be acceptable, we are expected to stretch ourselves, to believe we have no limits - to do and be the most or to  ‘take’ whatever life, or other people, dish up.
This can stop us paying attention to internal messages warning that we are over-extending our capacities in ways that are harmful to our systems.
​How do we learn to pay attention to our internal systems when they are telling us to do less, to say ‘no’ more often, so we ensure we have enough rest and reflective time to stay well?
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Katy Batha

0421 345 156