Hot topic. The neurobiological fact is, stress and sociological trauma responses, including Flight and Freeze, have been grossly mislabeled as laziness by a western, capitalist society that refuses to acknowledge how its oppressive paradigm hurts people who are already attempting to heal from other forms of trauma. It’s a brutal double whammy. I speak from experience.

Many of us who had PTSD prior to the pandemic, experienced a reactivation of symptoms, especially for those who were already, barely scraping by. While I’m no longer scraping by (which I thank god for every single day) I remember it vividly. Poverty sucks. Period. There’s no time or energy for learning to bake sourdough bread when you’re living in chronic survival mode because The Man has prioritized his space adventure over paying you a living wage. Also, ‘affordable housing’ is an insulting joke.

Many industries experienced high turnover which meant double, triple or quadruple the work for existing employees, at a time when daily life required double, triple or quadruple the effort, depending on what resources we had available. Add to that, attempting to meet the needs of a panicked public and you may be able to understand why many aren’t willing or able to leap out of bed to make milkshakes, create lesson plans or otherwise run into the proverbial burning building.

The pandemic has simply revealed the inherently dysfunctional and abusive social paradigm called Capitalism. Systemic inequality is a trauma that for many, results in legitimate biopsychosocial wounds which are then labeled as laziness. We are NOT lazy. It’s a trauma response. Compassionate awareness is a great place for healing to begin. 🎤#traumainformed #ptsd #systemicoppression #systemicgaslighting #wednesdaywisdom #see #boom

10 thoughts on “Werk This”

  1. Great post! Yes. I completely understand. I realized in recent months that I’m not going to succumb to what society, family, friends, or neighbors expect of me. I live simply and will run out of funds before the end of the year. But I’m not going to go out and get whatever job I can to pay my bills. It’s like looking for a quality relationship. There has to be certain qualities, compatibility, and passion to sustain a nourishing life. In the meantime, I’ve been frustrated but never giving up. My dad lost his life love to dementia this spring. His response is physical and occupational therapy. I mentioned to him that the best response to difficulties is to understand and respect the self. Hopefully everything else will lay out a little better as days go by. As for myself, I’ve had three amazing opportunities build right before my eyes. I get kind of misty thinking about it. But I’ve also learned that opportunities come with a cost. I’m reminded of low income urban opportunities often have either a time or money investment that makes them nearly impossible for them to approach. You know? We are expected to earn opportunity. Well, alright. I think about this stuff pretty often. 🙄

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  2. Those who should read this won’t and those who do are well aware of the injustice. Tragically, the fix is not likely in the near future because the wrong people have way too much power and way too little empathy. And it’s going the wrong way all over the world. A true democracy is very terrifying to people who love money more than humanity.

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    • Amen Sharon. Isn’t it a bummer that so many people have been encultured to have so little compassion for themselves and others?
      A silver lining of the pandemic, however, seems to be more people being honest about what we need and what we’ve had quiet enough of. Let’s hope the good changes help us take big leaps of faith towards a more humane society.

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