Of Traum and Trauma, Integration and Integrative

Traum (Dream)

Vienna, Austria.  On a personal level, the recent visit to refugee camps in Vienna reconfirmed that I am on the right track regardless whether it is easy or not to actually provide service considering that I do not reside there; it feels right:  The service I have been offering during three trips since October 2015.  It is because of the many little encounters with displaced children, men and women in these camps.  Every human being deserves to live freely, to be themselves as a Honduran asylum seeker was quoted in my previous post (as seen on the Forced from Home website) as much as we all deserve clean water, fresh food, shelter, clothes, health care, education.  It all sounds very utopian given the current climate.

Traum vs. Trauma.  The German word Traum (as seen in the above photo taken in the hallway of a shelter leading to the cafe) means dream in English.  As far as the root of the word is concerned Traum does not seem to be

Bee Sting Leads to Insight about Trauma and to "The Trauma of Everday Life"

"The Trauma of Everyday Life" was written by Mark Epstein, MD.  I admit I picked up the book for closer inspection because of the title.
And these two sentences made me buy it.  "It fuses deep scholarship with deep tenderness...." Siddharta Mukherjee and "Trauma does not just happen to a few unlucky people; it is the bedrock of our psychology." 

It spoke to me as a healer foremost but also as someone who recognizes to have had trauma.  I feel being aware of trauma benefits me as a holistic health professional as well as personally, as a friend, and partner.  (Please, note I am not a trauma expert but I do encounter it with many of my clients to a certain degree)   
- Do you know what caused stress patterns in your life?  Do you take time to allow old small traumas in when they show up in the present and take time to heal?  Some time by yourself, a meditation, talk with a friend, time in nature may shed light on it, but more severe challenges may need the attention of professionals.
   
If you personally suffer what might be PTSD or if you know someone who might be affected by it, please be aware that it needs to be dealt with to avoid lasting impact.  Please, take a look at the below links. 

An incident late last summer triggered a ripple effect of memories