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Trauma...                  Murphy Toerner

Our English word "trauma" comes from the Greek word for wound.  I would say that every person alive has sustained some sort of "wound" during their time on earth.  Some of our wounds are more like scratches.  You remember the time you were picked last by a team on the playground in elementary school or the time you were overlooked or undervalued at work as an adult.  These types of wounds would be considered minimal on the "wound" continuum.

Other wounds, however, are much more serious.  Where scratches are able to heal within a matter of days or perhaps weeks, the more serious wounds can take years to heal.  Some of them, in fact, are so deep, so penetrating, and so bloody that one may never fully recover from them.  

Wounds can vary in type, intensity, and degree of impact and  wounds can originate from different sources. 

We can be wounded by:

• ourselves - our impulsive choices, our irrational thoughts, our immature behaviors, our misdirected goals, ...
• others - their choices and their behaviors -- crimes [rape, sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, indifference],  rejection, divorce, manipulation, being taken advantage of, malicious gossip, ...
• accidents - personal injury or car accidents, on the job accidents, careless accidents, ... 
• natural disasters - tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, ...
• various types of losses - separation, divorce, betrayal, affairs, rejection, personal setbacks, professional setbacks, death of a loved one, ... 

I'm sure that you can identify with at least one item on the above list.  Each of these would produce some sort of a wound.  Some of these items would, without question, leave an indelible, yet lasting mark on us as human beings.   

The indelible, yet lasting wounds will often cause us to go into a state of emotional unequilibrium.  They will throw us off balance.  When this happens, many of us will suffer from a diagnosable condition called: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).   

 (It is our sincere hope that if you have been injured by life, by another person or even by your own choices that you will know that things can get better.  If you need help in your recovery from trauma please call us at: 225-753-7773.  We would love to assist you with your recovery.  Bless you all!  Murphy Toerner)