Blog
An Evolving Analogy
Posted on November 20, 2015
Recently, as part of my own advocacy work, I have been thinking a lot about how to communicate the impact of stress, trauma, poverty, and homelessness to a larger general audience. I think I’ve come up with a useful analogy that I wanted to share with the community. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comment section. Here is what I’ve been working on, presented in a format that I would give during a talk.
To understand the impact of psychological trauma and the high levels of stress associated with living in poverty and homelessness, it is critical to understand the biological impact of these events and hardships on a person’s biology. This understanding can help us conceptualize the biological response to stress and trauma, while also providing some perspective for what is needed to recover and heal. To accomplish this, I would like to propose an analogy comparing this impact to someone who recently had their leg amputated due being in an automobile accident with a drunk driver who aspires to run a marathon.
The person experiencing this tragedy has obviously had a change to their biology, as a leg that was there one day is not there the next. Additionally, no one would blame the person for this condition. Someone else made a terrible choice that impacted the biological reality of the victim. With modern technology, a great amount of support, and patience, the victim can learn to walk with a prosthetic leg, work hard to build the strength and coordination to run short distances, and over time, gain enough confidence and resiliency to run a marathon. Recent experience has shown us that, while the person has some large challenges to overcome, people with amputated limbs have been able to compete at the highest levels of competition.
This person would be greatly celebrated and honored in our society as a hero, and no one would deny them the support and resources necessary for them to realize their potential and overcome their challenges. Let’s contrast this to the person experiencing repeated, or complex, childhood trauma.
While less visible, complex trauma also dramatically impacts biology, especially brain development and functioning. The survival parts of the brain overdevelop in order to survive the repeated trauma, at the expense of the development of brain areas that regulate emotion, promote learning, and allow for the strategic thinking necessary for employment and academic success. As with the amputee, few would blame the victim of childhood trauma. Also similarly, this biology can be overcome with a great deal of support, patience, and assess to modern psychological treatments.
Unfortunately, here is where the analogy stops. It is easy for us to comprehend the resources and support needed to help those learning to live with a new biological reality due to an amputation. The biological reality of trauma is hidden and historically misunderstood, but no less powerful as an impediment to healthy functioning.
The biological impact of both the amputation and trauma prevent what is considered to be normal functioning, yet one person elicits an empathetic response while the other receives judgement and condemnation. We think the traumatized person is lazy, unmotivated, unstable, weak, and a drain on society and, as a result, do not provide the necessary support and resources for them to run their own marathon – integration back into mainstream society, with opportunities to reach their educational and occupational potential. While we would never expect the person with the prosthetic leg to run a day after surgery, we seem to demand exactly this from the trauma victim. Even though both face biological challenges, we expect the trauma victim to be able to will themselves immediately back into a successful, normal life, “if they could just find the motivation.”
We can justify some of this with ignorance about the complexity of the biological impact of trauma. This is one of the reasons we must think about how we can educate our funders, policymakers, and neighbors every chance we get. I believe, as human beings, we are compassionate people, but this compassion comes from connection and understanding. As long as there is ignorance, we make the problem worse and miss opportunities for the healing and support that is necessary for the accomplishment of one’s hidden potential.
With amputees, we have a more clear, concise roadmap. We know what needs to be done, what needs to be replaced. We can SEE it. And yes, we can come to understand things we cannot see- but how do we fix it?
As a person experiencing homelessness, I must handle the usual stresses of poverty and precarious housing. A survival strategy was to undertake a book project, in progress, as a way of trying to solve the problem of long-term unemployment. The intellectual excercise, therefore, may have strengthened that aspect of brain functioning. Critical thinking and writing is needed to survive. Furthermore, my situaton may be exacerbated by hidden trauma . Even those institutions that purport to assist me are afflicted with presumptions, prejudices and stereoptypes. Assistance is often accompanied by trauma. Another survival tactic I use, of necessity, is anger management and self-care. The composure that I work to keep has been misconstrued by providers. With no history of acting-out, and while maintaining a calm demeanor, I’ve still been considered a possible threat because I’m too calm! Service-providers err when they rely on preconceptions and don’t read my rough draft, where they would learn of my history, values and intentions. Aid is offered with stress, and the self-caring individual, such as I, is left to navigate intricate, sometimes indiscernable, paths to survival. Re-integration is delayed because I haven’t reached someone’s image of perfection, even as my self-care has served me well, up to now.
With amputees, we have a more clear, concise roadmap. We know what needs to be done, what needs to be replaced. We can SEE it. And yes, we can come to understand things we cannot see- but how do we fix it?
As a person experiencing homelessness, I must handle the usual stresses of poverty and precarious housing. A survival strategy was to undertake a book project, in progress, as a way of trying to solve the problem of long-term unemployment. The intellectual excercise, therefore, may have strengthened that aspect of brain functioning. Critical thinking and writing is needed to survive. Furthermore, my situaton may be exacerbated by hidden trauma . Even those institutions that purport to assist me are afflicted with presumptions, prejudices and stereoptypes. Assistance is often accompanied by trauma. Another survival tactic I use, of necessity, is anger management and self-care. The composure that I work to keep has been misconstrued by providers. With no history of acting-out, and while maintaining a calm demeanor, I’ve still been considered a possible threat because I’m too calm! Service-providers err when they rely on preconceptions and don’t read my rough draft, where they would learn of my history, values and intentions. Aid is offered with stress, and the self-caring individual, such as I, is left to navigate intricate, sometimes indiscernable, paths to survival. Re-integration is delayed because I haven’t reached someone’s image of perfection, even as my self-care has served me well, up to now.
I really like the analogy and it captures many of the challenges trauma survivors experience. However, what would it be like for a person to look like they have two good legs but one just didn’t work to carry out the function of running and walking. Would some people also think they were lazy and not motivated? Having trauma, until recently when we can look inside the head at a developing and functioning brain, may not change the way a person looks. We therefore make an assumption that their brains are similar to our brains and attribute meaning to their behavior. That is why the education, and training is so important.
I agree with Dr. Jerry. The issue is that the amputee is obvious to others. A trauma survivor is not obvious. There are people who are trauma survivors who are stymied. However they look just like the person who does not follow through due to some other issue.
I find as a homeless provider that most of the problem from my standpoint is convincing those not in the field to understand, Another issue is funding. We are given grants because we move people out of shelter — maybe before they are ready. Maybe we are forced to set people up for failure. Hmmm?
I really like the analogy and it captures many of the challenges trauma survivors experience. However, what would it be like for a person to look like they have two good legs but one just didn’t work to carry out the function of running and walking. Would some people also think they were lazy and not motivated? Having trauma, until recently when we can look inside the head at a developing and functioning brain, may not change the way a person looks. We therefore make an assumption that their brains are similar to our brains and attribute meaning to their behavior. That is why the education, and training is so important.
I agree with Dr. Jerry. The issue is that the amputee is obvious to others. A trauma survivor is not obvious. There are people who are trauma survivors who are stymied. However they look just like the person who does not follow through due to some other issue.
I find as a homeless provider that most of the problem from my standpoint is convincing those not in the field to understand, Another issue is funding. We are given grants because we move people out of shelter — maybe before they are ready. Maybe we are forced to set people up for failure. Hmmm?
This brief comment is to credit Westerm writer, Louis L’Amour, for the image of the trail I used in the previous comment. The night before, I had read one of L’Amour’s short stories, “The Lonesome God.” In it, I read: “…off to his right there lay the shadow of an ancient trail, lying like the memory of a dream across the lower slope of the mesa.” When I’ve been able to rread them, L’Amour’s books have played a role in my survival, and I’m grateful.
This brief comment is to credit Westerm writer, Louis L’Amour, for the image of the trail I used in the previous comment. The night before, I had read one of L’Amour’s short stories, “The Lonesome God.” In it, I read: “…off to his right there lay the shadow of an ancient trail, lying like the memory of a dream across the lower slope of the mesa.” When I’ve been able to rread them, L’Amour’s books have played a role in my survival, and I’m grateful.