A disaster or some other upsetting global event can dominate our thoughts and feelings, our private and public conversations, our homes and workplaces. And with 24/7 news just a click or tap away, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed.
Accessibility Tools
A disaster or some other upsetting global event can dominate our thoughts and feelings, our private and public conversations, our homes and workplaces. And with 24/7 news just a click or tap away, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed.
Traumatic events profoundly shock and overwhelm us. We can be exposed to trauma through deliberate harm, by natural disaster or accident, or by witnessing harm to others. It could be a single, vivid event or a pattern of violence, like childhood or domestic abuse. It can happen in public, at work or at home, where we expect to feel safe.
Trauma can be caused by a range of events, from war, terrorism, natural disasters, transport accidents, criminal and domestic violence and childhood abuse and neglect. Being exposed to these events can have lasting physiological and psychological effects.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can catch you off guard. You’re coping just fine and then — boom! Life becomes difficult. Out of nowhere.
That’s what happened to Ken Kemp, a veteran that served in the Australian Defence Force for 27 years, many of those on deployment.