Traumatizing Experience Essay

The time came for her to be delivered. She gave birth to her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. These were the words that I had spoken during a church Christmas play while I was just about to see the light at the end of my elementary school career. As I looked out into the faces of my family, I realized that I was making someone proud. I too was proud to have such a caring family whom I thought would be my strength throughout my life. Life has been so good to me thus far with wonderful parents, an older sister to whom I worshiped, and an older brother to keep me in tune with the magnificent

Regardless of how a child acts towards their parents, all that matters in the end is their unconditional love for them. However, the time it takes for them to express their gratitude will depend on each child. In the novel The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri demonstrates this, describing the life of a young boy named Gogol and his continually progressing relationship with his mother. It demonstrates that a child is unable to view his or her parents as a human being until the parent figure experiences a traumatic event that allows the child to empathize with their parents.

Being sexually assaulted as a child and teenager can ruin your life. As a child, you, really don’t

An ambulance came and carried out my mom. I didn’t know what was going on, so many questions running through my mind, what was wrong with her, was she going to be ok. I was scared, more scared then I had ever been. My sister Sheridan who was 8 asked me “what’s happening?” through tears. On that day a little piece of me began to change because if I let her see my fear that would not help anyone, and so even though I didn’t know what was happening I responded “everything is going to be ok” even though I did not trust my own words.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”(Bailey, Eileen) While this is often the case, certain tragedies are simply too overwhelming for the body and mind to recover from. Instead of making one stronger, some things leave the human body weakened both emotionally and physically. When faced with gargantuan amounts of stress, some people have mental or emotional breakdowns resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder.

It was the first Sunday of December morning when my father asked me to take some boxes to the basement, I had never been down there, as a kid I always thought it was scary, but know as a 19-year-old guy, how could I say no. I went downstairs with a couple of boxes, but could not find any place to put them. The area was a mess, so I decided that I would organize every box that was there. While I was organizing, I notice this one box hidden in the back, so, I decided to open it. Inside the box, there was a newspaper and a couple of burnt pictures. Therefore, I decided to read the article, I could not understand much, it was an 18 years old newspaper, but it talked about a burning house with two twin babies, It said that one had been saved with no harm while the other one was rescued later on with severe burn mark. It was a miracle that other baby had survived, they called him miracle Carlos, and his brother Richard. I stood there for a second before my brain processed

This memo recommends that the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-MI) use its resources to support Michigan House Bill 4843. This bill attempts to address the need for the increasing number of Michigan Veterans affected by psychological diagnoses and the benefits that come from utilizing service dogs to decrease effects associated with these diagnoses for Veterans to function in society. It would allow a five-year pilot program to be established to record the significance service dogs have on decreasing psychological symptoms of Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. It would also record the number of Veterans who are able to return to normal functionality within society due to utilizing a service

When most people hear the phrase sexual abuse we all have a tendency to assume the victim is a female. It is only a myth that males are not sexually assaulted, or that it only happens in while incarcerated. Sexual assaults can happen to anyone no matter their age, sex, orientation, or even identity. In fact, in between 9-10% of all male rape survivors outside of prisons are male and 16% of men have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. These reports are only an estimate because most male survivors of sexual abuse will either never report it or they encounter barriers while trying to report it. (Male Survivors of Sexual Assault, 2015) “The U.S. Department of Justice records an average of greater than 12,000 reported sexual assaults of men annually, and predicts that if unreported assaults are included, the actual number of men who are sexually assaulted in the United States each year is approximately 60,000.” (Male Survivors of Sexual Assault, 2015)

Trauma occurs when a child has experienced an event that threatens or causes harm to her emotional and physical well-being. Events can include war, terrorism, natural disasters, but the most common and harmful to a child’s psychosocial well-being are those such as domestic violence, neglect, physical and sexual abuse, maltreatment, and witnessing a traumatic event. While some children may experience a traumatic event and go on to develop normally, many children have long lasting implications into adulthood.

One month later my mom and I are standing in the living room playing with my little brother James when someone knocks on our door. My mom hustles to the door to see who it was. The person standing at the door introduced himself to us and said his name is Ted. Mother asked him why he was here and he said, “I’m sorry to tell you this but we got a report that your husband and son died at war.” At that moment all my hope was lost, and it felt like my life was over and it hasn’t even begun. My mom fell to her knees and started bawling her eyes out. I rushed down there to comfort her, and we just sat there for a little bit in the agony of knowing that part of our lives is gone and we have no choice about it.

Tom sat on the sofa, his shoulders hunched forward, his eyes staring listlessly into space. In his hands, a forgotten cup of coffee trembled violently, the lukewarm liquid spilling over his fingers. He hadn’t uttered a single word since his impassioned attempt to justify Booker’s assault, and as the minutes ticked by, his silence only added to Doug’s concerns. Although not an expert, as a cop, Penhall understood about trauma, and fearing his friend was going into shock, he made the decision to call 911. With an ambulance on its way, he dialed a second number, and after a brief conversation, he hung up. Turning his attention to Tom, he wondered how to proceed. While he wanted to offer comfort, he honestly did not know what to say. How did you console the victim of sexual assault when the perpetrator was a trusted colleague you worked side by side with day in day out? He was out of his depth and terrified of making matters worse, but he knew he needed to do something other than making a cup of coffee, and approaching Tom, he squatted down and laid a hand on his knee. “How ya doin’, buddy?”

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Sexual abuse to a child at times is confusing to the family. Families who are affected by sexual abuse to a child tend to have a difficult time talking about the abuse. About one out of every four girls and one out of every five boys are sexually abused by the time they are 18 years old.

The process of addressing memories of private suffering within “The Victims” by Sharon Olds is implied through contradictive perspectives. In the poem there is a shift in focus and tone during line 17. The poem addresses issues of suffering from two distinct perspectives, the first coming from a little girl and the second a grown woman. The narrative, imagery and diction are different in the two contrasting parts of the poem, and the second half carefully qualifies the first, as if to illustrate the more mature and established attitudes of the narrator in her older years – a stipulation of the easy imitation of the earlier years, when the mother’s views dominated and set the tone. Change has governed the poems structure here; differences