How We Can Stand Ourselves Back Up

Working after being victimized is hard. Seriously, it’s really hard. Dealing with the the brain fog, mood swings, forgetfulness, flashbacks, physical pains, and all other trauma symptoms negatively impact our ability to successfully do our jobs.

It would be great to have time off in order to process the trauma and be on a healthy path to healing. Being afforded this opportunity greatly reduces the stress of not being able to perform at our full potential. For many of us, this opportunity doesn’t exist. Either our companies don’t provide this benefit and/or we don’t have anyone who can financially support us while we get back on our feet. So, we have to continue working in order to have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies.

For those of us who have to work, there are some actions we can take to help us relieve some of the stresses of survivorship. These actions are small but may provide great benefits to us as we continue to pull ourselves together and move forward:

• Work from home (if possible)

• Request a temporarily reduced workload

• Take breaks (if possible)

• Take regular, deep breaths

• Slow down the pace, be intentional about each action you take

• Stay hydrated with water

• Keep a journal

• Have your feelings in (near) real time

Without putting out much physical or mental labor, we can individually take control of our healing progress. We can take our power back and ensure our livelihoods. We can save ourselves, by taking it one moment at a time.

Image by Peshkov