Concern. Compassion. Doubt. Despair. Anger. Hope. Imagine juggling these feelings every day in a situation where your ability to manage them could be the difference between life and death. For Dr Chris Luke, a consultant in emergency medicine, these experiences are an intrinsic part of the job - ranging from rage at a system that often leaves vulnerable people waiting anxiously, to the incomparable satisfaction of relieving patients' suffering and distress and making a real difference in people's lives and in society. Here, Dr Luke reveals his own rollercoaster journey from orphanage boy to one of the leading emergency physicians in the country. Luke's recollections and reflections on a life spent on the frontline - grappling with his own health issues, burnout and sometimes despair at a dysfunctional system - make for compelling reading. A Life in Trauma is a frank, remarkable account of a career spent helping others, sometimes at a painful personal cost, and ultimately offers a positive outlook on the potential of Ireland's healthcare system in the future.

The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. - Zen saying While the pain and suffering of trauma can seem unbearable, every day we see examples of people who have found a way not only to survive their experiences but also to really live their life to the fullest. This book is about finding your way back to your valued life. In Finding Life Beyond Trauma we hope to help you to move toward living a vital, rich, and awake life.

Trauma does not just happen to a few unlucky people; it is the bedrock of our psychology. Death and illness touch us all, but even the everyday sufferings of loneliness and fear are traumatic. In The Trauma of Everyday Life renowned psychiatrist and author of Thoughts Without a Thinker Mark Epstein uncovers the transformational potential of trauma, revealing how it can be used for the mind's own development. Epstein finds throughout that trauma, if it doesn't destroy us, wakes us up to both our minds' own capacity and to the suffering of others. It makes us more human, caring and wise. It can be our greatest teacher, our freedom itself, and it is available to all of us. Western psychology teaches that if we understand the cause of trauma, we might move past it while many drawn to Eastern practices see meditation as a means of rising above, or distancing themselves from, their most difficult emotions. Both, Epstein argues, fail to recognize that trauma is an indivisible part of life and can be used as a tool for growth and an ever deeper understanding of change. When we regard trauma with this perspective, understanding that suffering is universal and without logic, our pain connects us to the world on a more fundamental level. Guided by the Buddha's life as a profound example of the power of trauma, Epstein's also closely examines his own experience and that of his psychiatric patients to help us all understand that the way out of pain is through it.

In Trauma as Medicine, Sarah Salter Kelly shares her experience of her mother’s kidnapping and brutal homicide as an inspiring example of how to distill trauma into medicine on a personal level. Chapter by chapter, she invites the reader to take their own journey of healing. Sarah’s story takes us beyond the realm of personal healing and into the collective, as she seeks to understand her mother’s murderer. This leads her to the First Nations reserve of his ancestors and real-life immersion in the history of colonization in Canada, systemic racism, and white privilege. Offering ceremonies, journaling, and exercises, Sarah leads you into the discomfort of your own suffering to be with it, determine for yourself what you need, and discover the tools to proceed towards wholeness. Areas of focus include: Connecting with your own helping spirits, guides, and ancestors Altered states, including Ayahuasca Setting healthy boundaries Tending to the victim self Tuning in to feelings Facing fear and building a strong intuition Metabolising trauma: digesting and composting the waste, assimilating the gifts Ceremonies to face a perpetrator and contemplate forgiveness Collective healing

For survivors rather than professionals from a therapist who is also a trauma survivor"

Thriving After Trauma addresses readers who have experience trauma or loss due to a variety of experience – whether accident, abuse, or injury. Shari Botwin shows readers, through personal stories, how many who have experienced the worst kinds of trauma have managed to move on and thrive beyond their experiences. Often, those who live through trauma come away with feelings of shame, guilt, anger, and despair. These are common, even normal, responses in the immediate aftermath. Left unaddressed, though, those feelings may develop into substance abuse problems, eating disorders, depression, or anxiety. Learning how to move on, to pick up and live life again, takes effort and guidance. Botwin guides readers through the stories of others who have gone on to live fulfilling, happy lives, and provides tips and tools for healing and moving on. Letting go of the shame, guilt, anger and fear associated with tragic events is crucial to reclaiming a full life. Strategies such as, journaling, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral restructuring, and healthy relationships to aid in recovery are explored and explained, so readers can adopt those strategies that work best for them. It is not the trauma itself that results in so many people developing self-destructive tendencies and life threatening illnesses. It is the lack of having a way to digest and make sense of the trauma-related feelings that can lead one to mental illness, disconnection, and in some cases, even death. Readers will learn how to live with the trauma versus how to get over the trauma, so they can move forward healthfully and mindfully.

There is now ample evidence from the preclinical and clinical fields that early life trauma has both dramatic and long-lasting effects on neurobiological systems and functions that are involved in different forms of psychopathology as well as on health in general. To date, a comprehensive review of the recent research on the effects of early and later life trauma is lacking. This book fills an obvious gap in academic and clinical literature by providing reviews which summarize and synthesize these findings. Topics considered and discussed include the possible biological and neuropsychological effects of trauma at different epochs and their effect on health. This book will be essential reading for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, mental health professionals, social workers, pediatricians and specialists in child development.