It's Not Us, It's What Happened to Us: Moving Toward Dignity

[Kizzie]

The effects of trauma are indeed just that—effects of an event [or events]—and as such are causally related to the trauma and not to the harmed individual. .... when psychology and mental health professionals draw that causal path incorrectly, when the field fails to place the dysfunction solidly on the shoulders of individual and societal wrongdoing, survivors of trauma .... end up shouldering the burden. This, in essence, is pathologizing—the assumption that because individuals exhibit certain sets of symptoms, they are themselves disordered.[/i]  From Rosenthal et al, (2016). Deconstructing disorder: An ordered reaction to a disordered environment. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation 17(2).  As this article points out, we are not disordered; rather, we sustained lasting psychological and physical injuries due to the abuse/neglect of others.  These symptoms we develop are normal responses to an abnormal situation; that is, the ongoing abuse/neglect we were subjected to.  These responses allowed most, but not all, of us to survive.  It is important to our mental health and to how we are treated by professionals, government, the public and family that we accept this perspective rather than accept blame for our symptoms.