The spiritual gift within trauma

"Trauma enables us to find our purpose in life and equips us to achieve our mission for this incarnation"
(Tim Field)

On this page
Trauma
Workshops, lectures, conferences etc
Suggested reading | Links

The collective symptoms of trauma are congruent with the diagnostic criteria for Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a natural emotional reaction to a deeply shocking and disturbing experience. Almost anybody can suffer PTSD although it appears that those most likely to experience trauma are people who are sensitive, empathic, caring, honest, trustworthy, imaginative, artistic and creative. PTSD is a real condition, not imagined; PTSD is a psychiatric injury, not a mental illness. The differences between mental illness and psychiatric injury are listed near the bottom of my PTSD page.

Experiencing growing spiritual awareness as a result of trauma often forms part of the recovery process.

The causes of trauma have three things in common:

• an external cause - you cannot traumatize yourself, something or someone has to do it to you (this factor is important in cases of negligence and personal injury); suddenness or unexpectedness are key components
• violation - your body and/or mind are violated by an unexpected and unwelcome intrusion; with many forms of trauma the violation is of a sexual nature (eg harassment, rape, a violent partner, sexual abuse, contact experience, etc)
• loss of control - the experience is unexpected, overwhelming and beyond your control (and would be beyond the control of most people)

The effects of trauma are surprisingly commonplace, and many people suffering "stress", regardless of cause, will find they are experiencing many of the symptoms of trauma. These include:

• bewilderment and confusion, an inability to understand what is happening or why it happened
• a strong sense of denial, an inability to convince yourself that the experience was real; your denial is reinforced by the denial of those around you and especially of people in authority
• irritability, short-temperedness, sudden intense anger and occasional violent outbursts
• hyperawareness, an acute sense of time passing, the seasons changing, distances when travelling
• an enhanced environmental awareness, a greater respect for the natural world, a feeling of "wanting to save the planet"
• hypervigilance, which feels like but is not paranoia, and which may be (sometimes deliberately) mislabelled as paranoia by those around you
• sleep problems including nightmares and waking early
• flashbacks and replays which you are unable to switch off
• impaired memory, forgetfulness, memory which is intermittent, especially of day-to-day trivial things
• inability to concentrate
• exaggerated startle response
• panic attacks, feelings of nervousness and anxiety, excessive sweating, trembling, palpitations
• hypersensitivity - almost every action or remark is perceived as critical or threatening, even when you know it isn't
• a deep sense of betrayal
• obsessiveness - the experience takes over your life, you can't get it out of your mind
• joint and muscle pains with no obvious cause
• depression (reactive, not endogenous)
• excessive shame, embarrassment and guilt
• undue fear
• low self-esteem and low self-confidence
• a deep sense of unworthiness, undeservingness and and non-entitlement
• physical numbness, especially in fingers, toes and lips
• emotional numbness, anhedonia, an inability to feel love or joy
• detachment, avoidance of anything that reminds you of the experience
• physical and mental paralysis at any reminder of the experience

One of the most common causes of trauma I have come across is bullying, which includes all forms of psychological violence, harassment and emotional abuse. My experience and research suggests that at least half the population are bullied (click here to identify the bullying in your life), either at work or at school, or by a partner or family member, or by people in authority, or by neighbours. Bullying causes prolonged negative stress which cumulatively results in trauma. For more information on how stress causes ill health, see the injury to health page. For more information on the symptoms and effects of trauma, including the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for PTSD, see the PTSD page.

Bully OnLine identifies bullying as a common form of psychological violence which is a major cause of stress and trauma; bullying is also identified as the underlying behaviour of harassment, discrimination, prejudice, abuse, conflict and violence, as well as the current limiting factor for human evolution.

Workshops, lectures, conferences etc

26 February - 4 March 2006: 15th Annual International UFO Congress Convention & Film Festival, Flamingo Resort, Laughlin, Nevada, USA

24-26 March 2006: The Official Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis Convention, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Alternatives runs a regular lecture programme in London for everyone interested in personal and spiritual development. Speakers this include Susan Jeffers (Feel the fear and do it anyway) and Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations with God and Indigo: The Movie).

21 August 2005: Oxford Talks Signs of the Time Conference

Tune-in to talk shows featuring popular Hay House authors including Doreen Virtue and Wayne Dyer.

Suggested reading

The stormy search for self: understanding and living with spiritual emergency, Christina Grof and Stanislav Grof, Thorsons, 1995

Soulmates: understanding the true gifts of intense encounters, Sue Minns, Hodder Mobius, 2004

Trauma and transformation: growing in the aftermath of suffering, Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, Sage, 1996

The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield, 1997

Abduction: encounters with aliens, Dr John E Mack, 1991

Passport to the Cosmos: Human Transformation and Alien Encounters, Dr John E Mack, 1999

Communion, Whitley Strieber, 1988

Links

The Star Child - is this you?

See how Tim Field is using music as part of his own healing process.

Australian Close Encounter Resource Network (ACERN)

Publications by Dolores Cannon

The John E Mack Institute

World mourns loss of Dr John E Mack: http://www.centerchange.org/center/center_news.asp?id=227 and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4071124.stm

Dr Richard Boylan's Star Visitor, Star Kids and Star Seeds projects

The Anomalous Phenomena Research Agency (APRA)

Tim Field's page on paranormal activity which accompanies trauma

Transforming tragedy at the The Free Spirit Centre

Doreen Virtue Angel Therapy

Angels Calling

The Inner Bookshop, 111 Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RQ: mind, body, spirit, esoteric, holistic, paranormal, contact experience etc.

The Spiritual Cinema Circle - films that inspire, enrich and uplift the spirit, for example...

Indigo - how an Indigo child helps to heal her family, starring Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God

What the Bleep do we know?

Suggested reading on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and recovery from trauma

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The invisible injury, 2005 edition
by
David Kinchin
ISBN 0952912147
Published by Success Unlimited 2004
Fourth edition
Paperback, 16 chapters, 224 pages including resources and index
Click book cover (left) for more information

"This is the book I so badly wanted when I was traumatised."
David Kinchin, Author

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: the invisible injury provides clear, practical advice for recovery from major traumatic experiences, including violence, harassment, assault, rape, abduction, torture, accident, fire, explosion, disaster, or witnessing such events.

PTSD is a natural emotional reaction to a deeply shocking and disturbing experience. The symptoms are surprisingly common and include sleep problems, nightmares and waking early, impaired memory, inability to concentrate, hypervigilance (feels like but is not paranoia), jumpiness and exaggerated startle response, fragility and hypersensitivity, irritability, violent outbursts, joint and muscle pains, panic attacks, fatigue, low self-esteem, exaggerated feelings of guilt, feelings of nervousness and anxiety.

Order a copy:
 Online with secure credit card ordering
 By fax or letter with printed order form

Where now?
Success Unlimited
Books on bullying and related issues including PTSD
Trauma and spiritual growth
Inspiration