On Baby A's birthday, the c-section surgery went as planned. I walked into the OR around 9:30am and was pushed out around 2 hours later. W was instructed to wait outside while the team was getting me prepared for anesthesia. He then got invited to come in and sat next to me while the team worked on getting Baby A out of me 😂. W was a good DJ and Baby A was born while Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was being played. So...did I feel any pain during this life-changing surgery? No, I didn't. I had a spinal block. I never felt any type of pain during the surgery. Getting the anesthesia injected - however - was the most uncomfortable part of the surgery. There was a lot of pressure. I felt my back being pulled or pushed, or something. It just felt very uncomfortable, not painful, but very uncomfortable. It was also hard to try leaning toward the source of that uncomfortableness. Learning to relax while being uncomfortable was a very hard thing to do. But it was necessary. Once it...
Today I got to attend an online symposium organized by Addictions Coalition of Delaware County. It was more than I had expected. Admittedly, I initially signed up for it because it gave continuing education credits for a certificate I have (I have to attend training/conferences to receive 75 credits every 5 years in order to keep the certificate valid). But, this morning's meeting was wonderful and informative, and I plan on attending next year's symposium.
As someone who has worked in a substance treatment facility and planned/carried out prevention projects, substance abuse and addiction recovery weren't really new discussion topics. Much of the information I heard today was consistent with what I saw, and that immediately drew me in because it made me think "they know what they're talking about." It wasn't just people who came in to read long scripts of statistics and literature review, today's presenters were very passionate about what they were sharing and knowledgeable about how to phrase languages in order to be informative while showing care and not be invasive. I enjoyed it very much and thought to share some of what I heard and help bring more awareness! I took notes during the symposium and figured if I can share with more than 1 person (counting W already 😃), then it's a success!What is this Annual Delaware County Substance Use Disorder Symposium?
- The annual symposium brings together Ball State University faculty, staff, students, health services professionals, and community stakeholders to discuss substance use harm-reduction, prevention, treatment, and recovery in Delaware County.
- Today's symposium consisted of two training sessions, a keynote speaker, and a panel discussion on trauma-informed care and strategies for prevention.
- Theme for this year: "Creating & Implementing Community Interventions for Addiction & Recovery"
- Organized by Additions Coalition of Delaware County (https://sites.bsu.edu/addictionscoalition/)
What's something most difficult when working with people experiencing trauma?
- "Knowing how to help someone other than just listening to them"
What is trauma?
- Exposure to an extreme stressor involving actual or threatened death, serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity (one definition of physical integrity is "I'm in control of my body," other definitions could be who has contact with my body and when boundaries are being violated)
- Witnessing a similar event
- Learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat by a family member or other close associate
- A situation in which a person feels intense fear, helplessness, and/or horror in regards to the situation
Categories of trauma:
- sexual abuse
- physical abuse
- emotional abuse
- natural disaster
- combat/wartime
- witness violence
- community trauma
- situational, personal
Trauma is pervasive, wide, and diverse.
80-90% of people will have at least 1 traumatic experience in life.
People who have experienced trauma are
- 4x more likely to become an alcoholic
- 4x more likely to develop a Sexually Transmitted Disease
- 15x more likely to commit suicide
- 3x more likely to experience depression
How is trauma treated?
- In contrary to the common misconception about trauma care such as therapists sitting behind a desk taking notes while a client lies on a couch and spells out everything happened in life, trauma treatment can focus in a number of ways. Medicines cannot cure trauma, though they can help manage symptoms; therapy can treat symptoms and improve quality of life; clients can get tools from therapy sessions.
Something I wasn't aware of
- I knew PTSD is common in military populations, though I didn't know some studies found as high as 85% of people in the military had PTSD (or had a traumatic experience) prior to joining. This contradicts the widespread belief that soldiers/veterans had trauma as a result of combat and during exits of their missions. One thing I repeatedly heard was - people who have experienced trauma are drawn to helping others.
Trauma-informed care is
- A change in thinking from "what's wrong with you?" to "what happened to you?"
- It's how we behave at home, worksite, or anywhere
There's this talk that we shouldn't talk about substance use and "don't glorify substance use." However, not talking about something doesn't mean a problem will go away on its own. This phrase "shouldn't talk about something" reminds me of the example of sex ed - a traditional approach is to not talk about sex and that abstinence is the solution to teen pregnancy and teen STDs.
Instead of ignoring the elephant in the room, we can ask what is your preferred substance and why? This does not glorify drug use. The answers to these questions give a real indicator of the reason of use, for example, opioids affect physical trauma more effectively hence may be a preference.
Some quotes I wrote down from the panel discussion
- "Every story is an individual person and deserves a happy outcome."
- "Individuals are the experts of their own minds"
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