trauma for
Caregivers.
A Workshop By
Judith Acosta,
LISW

Why are We impacted by TRAUMAtic
events?
Because Mind is matter.
We operate under
The delusion of separateness.
“Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits.
But solitude is only a human presumption.
Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot.
Every choice is a world made new for the chosen.
All secrets are witnessed.”
Barbara Kingsolver in Prodigal Summer.

PART I:
The Hypnotic State of
shock.

PTSD & standard
Definitions of stress:
Stress is a response characterized by
Increased physical &
psychological arousal.
(Everly, ’89)
Stress is wear and tear. (Selye, ’76)
Stress is inevitable (Judith Acosta, 2009)

What to avoid when
Trying to heal trauma.
There is no comfort in major media. It feeds on
scandal and fear.

We are not what we think we are.
We are what we think, imagine,
and feel.
We feel in our bodies.
feeling thinking
imagining

THE POWER OF THOUGHT.
Lake water before and after prayer.

Molecules changed by
thought.
Bach’s Air in G Om Namah Shivaya Thank you

What the bleep?
move a muscle…
change a thought.
Change a thought &
move the whole body!
Alice Domar’s research & 10-week
workshop

PTSD:
Looking into the
heart of darkness
• What keeps us Sick?
(The trance loop)
• What keeps those thoughts alive and
active even when they’re not true?
(hypnotic trance)

Deep trance Phenomena:
It starts with the Vow .
In order for a symptom to
remain a symptom, there has
to be a DTP that we create to
hold the symptom picture
together. Without it the
pattern cannot repeat itself.

What Is Trance?
Narrowing, shrinking, or
fixing of attention.
Experienced as “happening to” us.
Characterized by spontaneous
emergence of DTP’s.

PART II: THE IMPACT OF
TRAUMA
Refugees: the silent sufferers
33% PTSD in children in central America
20% PTSD in Vietnamese refugees
65% PTSD in Bosnian refugees

the adrenal response:
fight
flight
freeze

CAUSES OF STRESS
Psychological
Social
Biological

“The thought that won’t go away.”
MIND BODY EFFECTS of
protracted or traumatic
stress
accelerates aging:
Vietnam vets get sick sooner
avg. male life expectancy is 73.
avg. male life expectancy of a cop: 59

Stress responses
general demands made on the
system
cumulative effects
critical incidents
PTSD or
acute stress disorder

Burnout:
fight
flight
exhaustion: giving up

PART III: For the Caretaker.
Saving lives and
the greater risk of
secondary trauma…
survival rules for helpers.

Number One.
If you didn’t cause it,
you can’t cure it.

Number two.
Staying well means:
rest
diet
exercise
socialize
verbalize

number three.
Have a spiritual context
for your life.
Meaning.
Purpose.

number four.
Make zen-sense of trauma
try hard by not trying hard.

number five.
Trauma is myopic.
See the background.

number six.
Cultivate inner stillness
breath work
yoga
meditation
prayer
(studies of prayer in Washington
D.C. that lowered crime rate by
25%)

Number seven.
Create community
belonging
people and pets
the rescue workers club

number eight.
cognitive appeal:
understanding brings comfort
new thoughts rewire the neural net
that has been caught in a
feedback loop.
“Knowledge is the antidote to fear.”
Emerson

number nine.
Concrete acts of kindness:
The Fort Ord study
Siebert’s studies of American
soldiers in Korea & Survivor
traits.

number Ten.
Survivor styles:
resiliency
complexity (biphasic)
self-esteem
realism
self-control
tolerance, care, con-conforming, intuitive
empathy
take charge
cleans up messes
service-oriented

For special seminars
Contact:
Judith Acosta, LISW
office: 505-771-2282
www.wordsaremedicine.com