Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
Find support with others who have gone through a traumatic experience. Whether you have chronic or acute PTSD, we are here for you.
Wow, its interesting having PTSD and finding yourself teaching college nstudents with PTSD, both those who are in PTSD recovery and those who are not in PTSD recovery. And when they surface to you ON THE SAME DAY. HELP!
1. First the rewarding story. Today I had the COOLEST conversation with an adult non traditional student from my Death and Dying class at the college. She came by my office today and told me she is in recovery from PTSD. Shes finding what shes learning about Kubler Ross and the stages of grief in our class helpful and that it reinforces what shes learned in her own therapy. She was so happy a professor understood her--and I hadnt even talked about my PTSD in class or anything. It was awesome. I was so happy, too.
2. Now the challenging story. Funny thing. Also today a different male student who was absent when I visited my Distance Learning studentssatellite campus to reassure them passed on a message through an adminstrator there. Seems hes wants me to know hes upset about something related to class, and he wants me to know its not DL related.
Sounds like he wants to work out a personal problem with me. Thing is, though, I dont know him. Hes a distance learning student to start with, and our distance learning hasnt been working well enough for us to have a real conflict anyway.
All I do know about him is that he has said hes a veteran. He said it in class once at the beginning of our course just referring oddly out of context to how he doesnt care how much his books cost, the VA pays. Administrators dont want to tell get involved in whatever problem he believes he has with me. If they know theyre not telling me whats bothering him at this point. But they did intimate that hes got the same kind of problem with instructors in other classes.
Im wondering if I could be dealing with a student whos stressed out by our Distance Learning machines problems, has PTSD, and has his anger triggered and wants to direct it at me. Its interesting to me he would skip class when I was at his satellite campus in person.
Great day in number 1 above, and Id like to know how to do well with number 2 here also, while taking care of myself in the situation as well.
Thoughts? Any help?
Muji
1. First the rewarding story. Today I had the COOLEST conversation with an adult non traditional student from my Death and Dying class at the college. She came by my office today and told me she is in recovery from PTSD. Shes finding what shes learning about Kubler Ross and the stages of grief in our class helpful and that it reinforces what shes learned in her own therapy. She was so happy a professor understood her--and I hadnt even talked about my PTSD in class or anything. It was awesome. I was so happy, too.
2. Now the challenging story. Funny thing. Also today a different male student who was absent when I visited my Distance Learning studentssatellite campus to reassure them passed on a message through an adminstrator there. Seems hes wants me to know hes upset about something related to class, and he wants me to know its not DL related.
Sounds like he wants to work out a personal problem with me. Thing is, though, I dont know him. Hes a distance learning student to start with, and our distance learning hasnt been working well enough for us to have a real conflict anyway.
All I do know about him is that he has said hes a veteran. He said it in class once at the beginning of our course just referring oddly out of context to how he doesnt care how much his books cost, the VA pays. Administrators dont want to tell get involved in whatever problem he believes he has with me. If they know theyre not telling me whats bothering him at this point. But they did intimate that hes got the same kind of problem with instructors in other classes.
Im wondering if I could be dealing with a student whos stressed out by our Distance Learning machines problems, has PTSD, and has his anger triggered and wants to direct it at me. Its interesting to me he would skip class when I was at his satellite campus in person.
Great day in number 1 above, and Id like to know how to do well with number 2 here also, while taking care of myself in the situation as well.
Thoughts? Any help?
Muji
Hope all goes well with this... will be awaiting your next post ...
((Muji)))
Actually, I spoke to my boss today and summarized the insights you guys gave me today. I said I'd consulted some experts I know and student #2 and that it seemed wise to ask for support in dealing with him. I seemed to get some support, kind of. We'll see if it materializes, but I can assure you that it's more support in such matters than I've ever allowed myself to ask a boss for. It felt good.
Learning to assert rights in the workplace calmly and gently is continuing, thanks to you all.
As a chaplain who went into hospital chaplaincy in therapy for PTSD myself, my therapist and I wondered when I took that challenge whether I could do that, what my limits should be. No one thrives on dealing with suicidal situations, but it turned out that suicide, though intense for me as for us all, wasnt my particular vulnerability. Know what was? A baby died in my arms. It turned out that I handled it well for the parents at the time, but that turned out to be my personal vulnerable spot.
Everyone in the helping professions has one Achilles Heel at least, and that was mine. In therapy I found out it was because I had bargained with God in my mind as a kid. The deal Id fantasized was that if God got me out of that war alive, when I grew up I would never fail to protect children. I would not put children in danger in the way adults in my home and my South American country had done.
So when I couldnt stop that baby from dying in my arms in the hospital as a grown up and a chaplain back in 2010, that was my trigger. It was good to learn, and its why we had a class tonight in my Death and Dying course devoted entirely to infant death this very evening. It turned out one of my students in tonights class had lived through the death of his own infant child and felt safe enough to speak about it to the class. Good stuff.