4.7.23

I am currently reading "The Body Keeps Score" by the psychiatrist and author Bessel van der Kolk. The author studied the effects of trauma over the course of human development. I was encouraged to read this book after a conversation with a friend about the impacts of the COVID lockdown after we collectively endured months of isolation and sense of powerlessness. In the article about trauma like symptoms during the pandemic, Kat Londsdorf defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event. Usually, an event that threatens your life, or the life of someone near you, and results in feelings of significant fear or helplessness.” While there is ongoing debate if we experienced trauma during the pandemic, I tend to think so. 

After researching the limitations of medication of healing those experiencing severe traumatic experiences van der Kolk ponders more holistic routes to healing. “When we ignore these quintessential dimensions of humanity, we deprive people of ways to heal from trauma and restore their autonomy.” The dimensions of humanity van der Kolk refers to include the following:

(1) our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another. Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well-being.

 (2) language gives us the power to change ourselves and others by communicating our experiences, helping us to define what we know, and finding a common sense of meaning.

(3) we have the ability to regulate our own physiology, including some of the so-called involuntary functions of the body and brain, through such basic activities as breathing, moving, and touching.

 and 

(4) we can change social conditions to create environments in which children and adults can feel safe and where they can thrive.

As the pandemic continues to recede, our collective healing commences. May we find the capacity to restore broken relationships and use language which uplifts those who hurt.  May we engage in our own journeys of self-care and healing in order to help our children thrive.
In peace,
 
Angela
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Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
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