Reposted - Sep 13, 2014 OVERWHELMED – IT’S NOT JUST FOR KIDS

In trauma we talk a lot about kids being in a state of overwhelm. Today it hit me (a BGO - Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious) that overwhelm doesn't just impact TKs. It hits Trauma Mamas, Trauma Dads, Trauma caregivers.  

You'd think after 5 years I'd recognize the signs.  The biggest clue is my brain does not function correctly. We're not talking "I can't find my keys"; we're talking two weeks of bemoaning the fact that there was no hot water in the bathroom sink and wondering what awful plumbing event was occurring, and finally realizing I was TURNING THE KNOB THE WRONG WAY - in a bathroom that I have used quite adeptly for 5 years.(Yes, laugh out loud. I did.)

So what do you, the trauma tender, do when overwhelm hits?  Take a breath (or a million), say a prayer, take a bath, take a break.  But sometimes (like now for me) none of those help.  Then I remember what Heather Forbes said in her Beyond Consequences online class: "Sometimes you just have to struggle. That's where the growth happens."   The statement was about TKs, but it is equally applicable to me, you, and everyone else who loves a trauma kid. 

So I guess I will just dwell in the struggle until whatever growth needs to happen happens.  Send a little extra  grace my way....waiting is not my strong suit, though being a Trauma Mama has increased my patience a zillion fold. 

Thanks for the grace....I promise to return the favor when you have to dwell in the struggle.