Is trauma really just a bad thing or is it able to do good? Have Jaycee Dugard and her family been left traumatized or are they normal? In Freedom by Jaycee Dugard is an autobiography discussing Jaycee’s first experiences after being saved from captivity eighteen years later. Jaycee Dugard moves past trauma in order to improve a stronger mental strength. Jaycee’s mother moved past the trauma of losing her daughter, only to discover her eighteen years later, demonstrating her mental stability. Jaycee’s sister, Shayna, overcame difficulties she faced in her life, like losing her sister and getting her sister back into her life. These three women demonstrate that overcoming traumatic experiences can benefit the development of a person's overall …show more content…
The first struggle that Shayna overcomes is the bullying she faced in school. The bullying Shayna faced was discussed when Jaycee writes, “I think it’s important we teach kids how to be caring to one another. My little sister was bullied after I was taken, and when I found out upon my return, that made me really sad to think about her going through that” (236). Shayna had to endure constant pestering solely because her sister was kidnapped, and even though she was picked on, Shayna still loved her sister, the bullying allowed her to improve how caring and loyal she is. Furthermore, Shayna was able to overcome the fact that her sister wasn’t there for her when she needed her but was still able to help her sister if needed. Jaycee points this out when she says, “I enlisted the help of relatives and friends, but it was just too much. When Shayna and Garrett offered to take over, I was so thankful” (204). When Jaycee was looking for someone to lend her a hand, Shayna was there to give one, she took over part of Jaycee’s foundation purely because Jaycee needed her to. Additionally, Shayna overcame the fact that she had been separated from her sister for eighteen years and was able to become close with her sister. Jaycee writes about their connection when she writes, “ Despite not growing up, I think we have a lot in common. One time she texted me a picture of the colour she painted her nails, I sent her a ‘“ LOL … me too”’ text. I had just had mine painted the same shade of purple. What are the odds we would both pick that colour of our nails in the same week? We also share the same sense of humor and laugh at the same jokes” (201). The separation from her sister allowed Shayna to embrace older, mature, Jaycee, it allowed them to overcome any childhood differences, improving their current relationship. To sum
Trauma is an overwhelming experience that causes injury to a person's psychological state of mind. Complex trauma, on the other hand, is a term used by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). In which an increased emphasis is placed on the impact of multiple traumatizing events that occur during child development stages. As well as an increase in sensitivity of those traumas involving close personal relationships, such as caregivers and siblings (Forkey 3). Children exposed to complex trauma suffer from detrimental short-term and long-term effects on every aspect of their child development. These effects significantly impact their overall "quality of life," specifically affecting areas of cognitive functioning, neurobiological
From the presentation, the most important thing I learned was that statistically, more than 60 percent of the population has experienced some sort of trauma and it could lead to substance use, depression and risky
... Joyce Dorado. "Who Are We, But For The Stories We Tell: Family Stories And Healing." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy 2.3 (2010): 243-249. PsycARTICLES. Web. 2 May 2014.
Historical trauma is described to be an experience or event that have caused a generation or individual harm.
“We aren’t the weeds in the crack of life. We’re the strong, amazing flowers that found a way to grow in the challenging conditions.” (McElvaney, 1057) The book entitled “Spirit Unbroken: Abby’s Story,” offers a perspective on child abuse providing a positive outlook on a tragic situation. Even in the best of circumstances, however, victims of abuse can see the effects of the trauma for the rest of their life. For each individual person affected by this form of trauma, the reactions can vary. The same type of abuse in two different people can have very different outcomes – one could be that of coping, and the other a life of brokenness. Especially at impressionable ages, any form of abuse can be a hindrance in living a normal life. Children
In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie’s past actions affects her development throughout the novel. There are also positive and negative effects that impacted her life. Janie is influenced through the development of her relationships such as her Nanny’s advice to her as a child, Joe tries to control her, and before and after the hurricane causes Tea Cake and Janie’s relationship to become more tense, causing the outcome for her to free herself from the restrictions and make her own personal decisions. She becomes more confident, more self-aware , and discovers her capabilities .
Adversity affects the lives of many individuals. Through facing adversity people tend to show their true selves. In the novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse-Anderson, the main character Melinda, faces a few different types of adversity. One form of adversity that she faces is that she was sexually assaulted. Another type of adversity that Melinda goes through in this novel is that she loses all her friends and starts to lose her family as well. Throughout my life, I have faced many different types of adversity, one major thing that I have dealt with in my life is depression. Those who face adversity in their life can choose if they want to face it or to ignore it, and the outcome will prove what they chose to do.
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
In the essay "Overcoming Abuse - My Story", Shawna Platt talks about her childhood with her alcoholic parents and her struggles. She has experienced neglect, domestic, emotional and sexual abuse. She also talks about how she overcame all the abuse, the way the abuse effected her mental health, and how she broke the cycle with her children.
After understanding, and coping the problem a person can deal with their problem at hand by perhaps writing it down or writing about who hurt them, according to Melanie Tonia Evans, “this is self-recognition that will assist you in healing and reclaiming your right to perfect love, success and happiness.” A person can feel as if they were abandoned, unwanted, unloved, or forgotten. The most important thing though, is to stay positive about themselves at all costs. When a person loves themselves and is happy with their life it can make everything much easier and healing can begin. “Once you have validated and learned what you can from the experience, you can let it go and move forward. This won’t happen all at once. Those imprints are still there, and they need to be replaced with healthy, positive ones,” (Dania Vanessa.) The dysfunctional experiences that a person has from their childhood can pose as a learning experience that shaped someone into who they are now, from the hardships they
When faced with a life altering situation although Molly’s characteristics and personality aid her in courageously defying them, the effects of facing this traumatic event will lead to long term psychological repercussions. When severe harm is inflicted on a person’s psyche, it is viewed as an emotional trauma (Levers, 2012). The emotional harm inflicted on Molly’s psyche originates from different dimensions; like her upbringing, her trauma is multidimensional too. As a child of the Indigenous community, whose ancestors and elders were killed violently in inter-group conflicts, and whose children were forcefully removed from families, Molly is would experience intergenerational trauma (Atkinson, 2002). Intergenerational trauma is trauma passed down from one generation to another; as a close knitted community group, the grief experienced by family members of losing their loved ones, would have been transferred across generations (Atkinson,
The trauma-informed care philosophy emerged as a result of research that began to highlight the long-term consequences emerging in the lives of people due to trauma. This research can be found in studies like the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, which pioneered an understanding of trauma’s lifelong influence on health and wellbeing. Medical doctors as early as 1985 began discovering that early life traumas were impacting their adult patients negatively, and started thinking more in depth about what that might mean throughout someone’s lifespan. Dr. Vincent Felitti and a representative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Robert Anda, developed this research and discovered that both physical and mental health
Trauma can be defined as something that repeats itself. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, trauma recurs in soldiers for different reasons. However, although their reasons for trauma are different, the things they carried can symbolize all the emotions and pasts of these soldiers. One man may suffer trauma from looking through letters and photographs of an old lover, while another man could feel trauma just from memories of the past. The word “carried” is used repeatedly throughout The Things They Carried. Derived from the Latin word “quadrare,” meaning “suitable,” O’Brien uses the word “carried” not to simply state what the men were carrying, but to give us insight into each soldiers’ emotions and character, his past, and his present.
In the production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, trauma played a huge role in the lives of some of the characters. Characters such as Hamlet, Ophelia and even Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude displayed effects of trauma within this production. Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. Brooke Sanders came and explained how people are affected by traumatic events in their life time whether it has to do with death, family issues, or just dealing with issues in life, period.
In life, many things are taken for granted on a customary basis. For example, we wake up in the morning and routinely expect to see and hear from certain people. Most people live daily life with the unsighted notion that every important individual in their lives at the moment, will exist there tomorrow. However, in actuality, such is not the case. I too fell victim to the routine familiarity of expectation, until the day reality taught me otherwise.