Medical Whistleblower Brochures 4 Too Close For Comfort Impact On Intimate Relationships

Medical Whistleblower Loved Ones—most affected #4 James Russell Lowell The entire family and all those close to the Medi- cal Whistleblower are affected when a Medical Too Close for Comfort— Whistleblower faces retaliation. Under stress it can become very difficult to maintain boundaries “ Truth forever on the scaffold between work and family, and those closest to the Whistleblower may suffer the effects of stress Impact on Intimate caused by the working environment. With Whistle- blower Retaliation in particular, the spouse and Wrong forever on the throne Relationships the children may themselves be targeted in attempts to undermine the Whistleblower. A better understanding of stress and the effects it can have on a person can help to those closest to the Medi- Yet the scaffold sways the cal Whistleblower deal with the signs of stress. Those supporting the Whistleblower need to know future how to respond to the retaliation. Necessary ac- tion can be taken sooner rather than later to pro- tect the Whistleblower from additional psychological violence in the workplace and before last- And behind the dim unknown ing emotional damage results. It is important to recognize that in most cases harassment and bullying can only be stopped by the intervention of someone from outside the situation who has the Standeth God within the power to take sanctions against the perpetrator. Reconciliation attempts usually do more harm than good, empowering the perpetrator and disem- Shadow powering the person being targeted. Keeping watch above his own” Medical Whistleblower Supporting the Emotional P.O. Box C Health of All Whistleblowers Lawrence, KS 66044 and their Friends, Supporters and Families. Phone: 360-809-3058 Tel: 360-809-3056 Fax: None E-mail: MedicalWhistleblower@gmail.com

Supportive Personal Relationships are essential to Healing People with PTSD may experience a variety of so- Changing Jobs their confidentiality could be compromised, and this matic and psychological complaints, including sleep concern is not entirely groundless. Hostile psychiatric disturbance, outbursts of anger, or an exaggerated For the sake of their health, Medical Whistleblow- evaluations used to remove the targeted Whistle- startle response. (They jump at sudden noises or ers may need to move as soon as possible to a new blower from his/her employment are commonplace. movements). A characteristic of PTSD is the remem- position away from the stress, but often discover So is a Fitness for Duty examination that removes the bering of the trauma, and sometimes actually reliving that they were being hindered by fabricated alle- Whistleblower’s badge or security the events in the mind. Medical Whistleblowers have gations in their professional references. Often in an clearance. Medical Peer Review recurrent recollections of the event, distressing effort to find safety and security in their lives, practices are aimed at removing the dreams about what happened, or some other form of Medical Whistleblowers move from one job to the medical license from the Medical psychological rehashing of the event. As a result, the next, each step with lower pay, longer hours and Whistleblower not at assisting them in Whistleblower avoids all situations that might be a less benefits. This causes significant financial stress Telling Truth to Power. Referring reminder of the trauma, and tends to react with sig- on the family and can strain personal friendships stressed people for work-based coun- nificant anxiety whenever there is a reminder of the and religious and social ties. The seling helps perpetuate the myth that event. These precipitating events are called Triggers. stressed person struggles even it is the person who is the problem, These violent recollections can have a serious impact harder to prove they can cope. rather than the working environment. In addition, on a person's feelings, and the physiological reac- But this is a recipe for disaster, as where workplace bullying and whistleblower retalia- tions to these feelings, become patterns of anticipa- almost inevitably the person will tion is involved, and/or the whistleblower’s continued tion, which in turn create more maladaptive feelings. suffer further problems with re- employment is under question, there can be boundary This mutual interaction between anticipation and fear taliation which may eventually problems. Where the stress has been caused by promotes what has sometimes been described as force them to resign or retire. workplace harassment and bullying, it also allows the “isolation and paralysis of the mind.” Social relation- perpetrators to switch the focus of attention away ships often suffer, as the person becomes more with- from their own abusive behavior by inferring, usually drawn and detached. There is a dehumanising aspect Counseling under the guise of sympathy and support, that the of the trauma that creates a sense of not being con- Counseling will achieve little if the cause of the person they are targeting is mentally ill, and that it is nected to humanity and the human race and a lack stress is not addressed. Counseling itself is a stress- their "mental illness" which is responsible for the cur- of the ability to keep an empathic connection. There ful process and as such is generally contra- rent problems within the workplace. The whistle- is often a profound lack of trust, isolation from soci- indicated for people who are already suffering blower may feel safer talking to someone who is fur- ety, emotional numbing and a fear of feeling– called from any significant stress. General counselors are ther removed from their situation. A better option anhedonia. This fear of feeling or emotional dis- often trained largely in dealing with people's en- would be to tackle the actual problems in the working tance is very hard on intimate relationships and many dogenous or intra-psychic problems (those which environment. A responsible employer should look to Medical Whistleblowers find themselves loosing their come from within), and may be highly skilled in see what changes can be made in the working envi- loved ones right when they need them most. To pro- doing so. However, they may have less training or ronment, and to reduce the expectations on the mote healing and to empower the Medical Whistle- experience in dealing with employment-related stressed person. blower, loving and understanding colleagues, concerns such as stress and/or workplace bullying, friends, partners, and family are necessary to coun- where the source of the difficulty is external. Mis- teract the dehumanizing effects of the trauma. So- placed or misguided counseling, however well- Medical Whistleblower cial networks need to be established to provide com- intentioned, can do serious damage to stressed and P.O. Box C fort and support to family mem- bullied people by feeding and reinforcing their Lawrence, KS 66044 bers and the close personal net- own feelings of failure and self-blame, challenging work of the Medical Whistle- their reality, and pushing them further into stress Phone: 360-809-3058 blower. breakdown. Employees may feel concerned that Fax: None E-mail: MedicalWhistleblower@gmail.com

Medical Whistleblower Brochures 4 Too Close For Comfort Impact On Intimate Relationships

by MedicalWhistleblower on Aug 26, 2009

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Medical Whistleblower Brochures 4 Too Close For Comfort Impact On Intimate Relationships — Presentation Transcript