Blog
It’s OK We’re Not OK
To put a pretty fine a point on it, I really hate the word resiliency*. I’m resilient. You are too. We all have some ability to adapt after stress (whether it feels that way or not); none of us would be here without it. I’ve used these words often in my...
My Crusade: Let’s Use the Term PTSD Correctly Please
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was once a term used primarily to describe soldiers’ mental health issues. It took a lot of education on the part of returning veterans and mental health professionals for us regular folk to understand the profound...
Leadership and Mental Health—Leading Your Team through the Tough Times
Today’s workforce is living in a unique world. Multiple traumatic events have occurred in recent years, from terror attacks to natural disasters, tragedies in homes and families (even the workplace), and even difficult financial situations which force...
Communicating About Trauma: Say What?
Trauma is not one of life’s more enjoyable experiences. It’s deeply disturbing and can impact those who come face to face with it for their entire lives. Given the gravity, it’s important to be careful how we communicate about trauma. We tend to do a poor...
Communicating About Trauma: Know Your Audience
Like in all effective communications, a critical principle when communicating about trauma is to know your audience.“Crisis management is at heart an individual challenge.”- James Lee Witt, FEMA Director 1993-2001We all look at a crisis from our own world...
Managing Your Team After Layoffs
After a layoff, your leadership team may be breathing a sigh of relief that nothing major fell apart in the process. You may also feel like the remaining team members are the cream of the crop, and more than qualified to keep the ball rolling, maybe even...
When Change at Work Becomes Traumatic
Stress at work is nothing new for many of us – feeling overworked, pressure to meet deadlines, etc. But what about experiencing trauma at work? Some people can and do experience violent trauma at work – teachers, retail workers, restaurant servers,...
Recognizing Trauma in Workplace Colleagues
Trauma survivors can experience a wide variety of symptoms. As a colleague or supervisor, you may recognize some of these, and there are others you just can’t quite put your finger on. However, even if you can’t pinpoint their symptoms, you likely can...
Are you ok? Recognizing Trauma in Others
Trauma sufferers exhibit a variety of symptoms. Understand how you can recognize psychological and physical symptoms and offer support to friends and family.
Recognizing Signs of Psychological Trauma In Yourself
Trauma. Just six inoffensive letters, from the Greek word for wound, developing in the late 17th century into the English word we now recognize. In the dictionary, the basic definition of trauma is an injury. In the medical field, it’s further defined as a physical...