| There are various ways to overcome trauma. These are known as coping skills. They contribute to the reconstitution of life as it was. The handbook for teachers (AVSI, 2003) lists a number of these skills. - talk about the problem with someone you trust
- accept advice
- do something which makes you feel useful
- accept the problem and start a new life
- stay with a friend in order to feel safe
- change your environment in order to protect you and your family
- ask spiritual help
- visit cultural activities
- participate in community work
- participate in recreational activities
- take part in rituals and ceremonies
- make an effort to pick up the old daily routine: work, school and so on
However, it must be stressed each individual has his/her own ways of coping with problems. What is useful for you may or may not work for someone else. Part of coping skills is to EXPRESS ones feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. After a traumatic event, painful feelings and thoughts remain inside like a thorn in a foot. The person will continue to feel pain unless the thorn is removed. If the thorn stays in too long, the person may become disabled. But if the painful feelings are expressed (much as one removes the thorn and the infection caused by it) then the person can recover and heal, even though the scar will still be there. What is coping? Coping - Coping is a broad term, referring to anything people do to adjust to the challenges and demands of stress. At the very least, coping consists of any adjustments made to reduce the negative impact of the stress. In this way, coping can succeed in reducing the stress-load. For example, if a jug is nearly full, one way of coping would be to pour some of the water into another container, drink it, or give water to plants or animals. These would all be constructive ways of coping before the jug became too full and began to spill. Another constructive approach might be to acquire more jugs or a larger jug, a strategy that would increase capacity. In this way, no water is wasted and the total holding capacity for water (or for stress) is not exceeded. It might also be the case that the jug is ignored and overflows. Or possibly, the water could be wasted by being poured out anywhere. In other words, the way of coping is ineffective or causes other problems. This is also an option, as not all coping is constructive. Typically, however, people cope well with stress either by reducing their stress-load or by increasing their stress capacity, which can also be called their coping capacity. Stress capacity equals coping capacity because a person can sustain the same amount of stress as they can cope with at any given time. (Psychological Support: Community-based Psychological Support Training manual. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 2002) |    |
