(Faure - "Pavane")
Trauma work can change professionals and other carers working within this field. It can damage, unsettle or throw us off our chosen path.
The effect of vicarious traumatization tends to develop gradually over time and it is often easy not to notice that you are being affected by it until something happens to highlight changes in your personality and lifestyle.
* Reduced energy, exhaustion, lack of motivation and feeling that you have no time for yourself.
* Disconnection from others - other people don't really understand you; you don't feel close to people anymore. Difficulties with your partner or with other close relationships.
* Emotional blunting - finding it difficult to experience emotions; not being able to laugh or cry as you used to; not caring. Being less self-reflective and less able to sort out your own feelings.
* Questioning career choice, feeling ineffectual.
* Errors in maintaining professional boundaries, failure to set limits, a general sense of failure and resentment.
* Social withdrawal, loss of interest in social activities.
* Feelings of despair and hopelessness, a bleakness in your outlook.
* Feelings of weakness, shame or guilt, often because your own problems seem comparatively minor compared with those of your clients.
* Loss of belief in the justice of life or in a sense of balance between good and bad, resulting in cynicism and bitterness.
* Heightened sense of danger, feeling less secure, scanning for danger, including for violence or aggression, in your environment.
* Sleeping problems and nightmares.
* Difficulties in concentrating and making decisions; not listening to others; confusion and disturbance of organizational skills.
* Lack of self-control, increased anger, impatience, strained relationships with others.
* Loss of trust in others.
* Alterations in sensory experiences, e.g. intrusive imagery and flashbacks.
Other changes to look out for:
* Changes to your inner sense of identity and equilibrium, i.e. you find it harder to experience and integrate strong feelings or to maintain an inner sense of connection with others or to feel grounded and anchored within yourself.
* Changes to your world view and spirituality, i.e. you have lost or changed your philosophy of life, your values and beliefs about others and the external world.
(Faure - "Pavane")