Trauma
Impact Inventory for Secondary Trauma
Person who has suffered trauma directly now shows symptoms of post-traumatic response without experiencing the original trauma, and this impact is unwitnessed.
Secondary trauma happens to people who are exposed repeatedly to others’ trauma. Therapists, emergency responders, social workers, family members of trauma survivors. They absorb the fear and hypervigilance without the original traumatic memory. The result is real PTSD-like symptoms but often without recognition that this is trauma response.
Naming the impact is the first step toward healing.
Impact Inventory for Secondary Trauma
Answer the following about the trauma exposure you have had:
How long have I been exposed to this trauma:
What symptoms have I developed: (Hypervigilance, nightmares, avoidance, irritability, numbness, sudden panic.)
What has changed in my body: (Sleep problems, fatigue, physical tension, immune system issues.)
What relationships have been affected:
What am I avoiding now:
What safety assumptions have I lost:
What do I need that I am not getting:
The person who experienced the original trauma needs your support. And you are also a person who was affected. Both things are true.
This is not a burden on them. This is not their job to manage. This is your healing to do.
What is one thing you need to heal from secondary trauma? (Support from a therapist. Time away from the trauma exposure. Talking to someone who understands. Your own safe space.)
Name one thing. Tell someone about it. Begin.
You cannot pour from an empty cup. And you are pouring. So you need to fill yourself back up.
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