Everyday Canvas

Goodness / Psychological Trauma

Prompt: "The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind but the goodness of a person spreads in all directions." Chanakya Write anything you want about this.

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Short of becoming a saint, a person can spread the goodness inside her by feeling and acting as if he or she is in service of others all the time, just like the fragrance of flowers. A flower doesn’t care who smells its fragrance, it just lets it out for everyone. Like a flower, any one person can spread his or her positive energy, too.

Even if one doesn’t have the means to help, there are a few simple things everyone can do for others, easily, like acknowledging the existence of others by greeting them with a smile, picking up a few pieces of trash if they see them, appreciating any kind of service with a thank-you, giving to the needy, and never badmouthing anyone.

It is also a good idea to accept and respect other people’s ways of talking, believing, and thinking even if they seem to be very different.

If a person can manage to make these things a habit, others may appreciate or even imitate him or her, and who knows, one day, this may spread to an entire community, city, nation, or even the whole world. Just keeping my fingers crossed!

Prompt: Psychological trauma is described as a type of distress in the mind that occurs as a result of a painful event. How would you help someone close to you if they have gone through such a trauma?

If a person has gone through an extremely stressful and disturbing event, which may have left them unable to gain control over their emotions and feelings, that qualifies as psychological trauma. This could be a one-time event or an ongoing one, for example, PTSD or living in a dangerous place or stressful relationship or the ticking clock like a scheduled surgery.

What bad things happen to a person, it may take a while for them to get over it and feel safe from it again. When in the company of a traumatized person, we have to understand that, for such a person, there is no right or wrong way to think, feel, or talk, and we shouldn’t be judging their behaviors if we wish to help them. Distressed people need to feel what they feel when they feel it. They don’t need their feelings minimized or looked down upon.

A few things I can think of that may help a traumatized person by a layperson are:

• to encourage them to get moving, exercising, etc.
• to befriend them and accept them as they are whether they want to talk about their trauma or not.
• to encourage them to ask for support. If they reject professional counseling, then having them talk to a family member, a friend, or a clergy person.
• to have them reconnect with friends, old or new.
• to introduce them to other people, encouraging them to seek new areas of interest
• to encourage them to do volunteer work since helping others challenges the sense of helplessness