Healthcare talks (not enough) about trauma-informed medical care, which is summarized best by what its name so states.  But what about trauma-informed advocacy?

This could easily become a dissertation or a thesis topic, and, fair warning, I may pick your brains in the future if/when I pursue another grad degree.  In the meantime, if you want to read a dissertation, or even a SparkNotes version, on trauma research, you have to put in the hours.  For those interested in learning more, some recommended starting points would be to look at how trauma is clinically-defined, to read the DSM V PTSD diagnostic criteria as examples, and so forth.

Just as physical health can impact mental health and vice versa, so, too, can trauma.  For example, we know trauma changes us on a cellular level, is linked to autoimmune disease, and can negatively influence mental health.  This can, in turn, greatly diminish an individual’s quality of life, while also hurting society (lost work production, etc.).  For years I have been preaching that trauma is a public health crisis that costs us so much- financially, emotionally, physically- and this article wowed me in how well it articulates those points.  While not all trauma is preventable, much of it could be prevented/lessened if human beings simply treated one another better, and if healthcare provided more opportunities to cope well.

But, for today, this blog post is fodder to perhaps get us thinking about our advocacy.

Not every person, nor every advocate, has experienced trauma.  Yet, when I have looked around the room at healthcare events in the past, I have seen the battle scars of those who may have publicly or privately disclosed their painful histories with us.  Admirably, advocates have chosen to help others, to be intellectually curious, despite their own hardships.

Havoc-wreaking health conditions. Bloody medical procedures. Abuse and/or neglect. Poverty. War. And, sadly, the list could go on much longer.

We may have been brought together, on Twitter or at a conference, for example, because of our mutual interests in healthcare-related topics.  And yet, I often find there is another common denominator in the room: trauma.

Diabetes fireside chats often ask: Which came first, the diabetes or the depression? (Or perhaps, a little of both?).  Knowing what we do about the health effects of trauma, this theme remains prevalent.  Trauma often begets trauma.  Maybe workplace harassment trauma triggers an autoimmune attack, and then the difficult reality of living with a chronic physical health condition compounds, molding trauma upon more trauma into a teetering Lego castle of human life.

I recently tweeted that in educated adulthood, I often find myself wondering about the manageability of my own diabetes if the inflammatory effects of trauma history were not involved (i.e., would type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition, be more tamable without trauma?).  Probably.  In layman’s terms, cortisol is released when stressed, leading to insulin resistance, and around we go.

The “five types of diabetes” headlines are all abuzz recently.  Yet, I believe that there are much more likely to be 5 gazillion types of diabetes, all manifesting across a spectrum that caters to our individual genetic makeup, environment, and so on. This includes our traumas, or lack thereof. Just as other major autoimmune diseases go through times of “flares,” so does type 1 diabetes, in my opinion (and despite our reluctance to use the term). Trauma can potentially be the cigarette lit by the gasoline tank, and it is not far-fetched that this could set diabetes aflame- a “flare” going off in the night.

While I will surely be critiqued for my subjectivity here, I can tell you that behind closed doors many big wig diabetes doctors have entertained, and even suggested, some of this material. Recognizing that trauma may make my diabetes more wily, at times, does not mean that I am giving up or copping out.  It has actually provided my healthcare providers and I with some much-needed peace (which, I might add, can positively affect emotional health and blood sugars, and don’t we love how complex this all is?!!!). We can forgive ourselves for the moments where we do everything “right” and the outcomes remain frustrating, and we can draw a more practical game plan moving forward. Although the scenario is not ideal, there are options instead of dead-ends.

The truth is, no one knows exactly the impact of every minutiae of each diabetes story, or healthcare story, or an individual’s overall life story, and we probably never will.  But is that any excuse for our healthcare ecosystem to lack supportive resources for folks withstanding the tough stuff?  How might we provide quality, holistic care earlier, and better?

Some other Stanford Medicine X (#MedX) Scholars and I tweeted aloud on this idea: What would our healthcare stories, and current health experiences, be had trauma support been different? And, if our healthcare stories were different, how would the larger fabric of our stories as humans be changed?

We unanimously agreed that, at the very least, life would have been easier physically and emotionally.  Having that validation that it is okay to hurt, and to seek proper support for what you know is real, can be the difference between being stuck in the quicksand of an overwhelming health condition, or keeping one’s head afloat.  I can only speak for myself, but groupthinking about this was incredibly powerful and a lot less scary than Ally-alone-thinking inside my own skull.

If there is a MedX reunion in the future (please!!!), I believe it would speak volumes to collectively gather as advocates initiating this conversation from such a platform.  This does not mean that everyone would use a megaphone to discuss things they may not be comfortable sharing.  Far from it.  Rather, I imagine us simply standing together in unison, acknowledging the common denominator of trauma-truth that is so often overlooked in healthcare.

So, today, I wonder aloud again.

Without trauma:

What would my diabetes be?

What would my mental health be?

Who would I be?

Would I even be an advocate?

Will there be a day when the common denominator in the room is our access to equitable opportunities and resources to achieve our potential, to live full lives despite whatever we have endured, and to feel supported?

What would our society look like, then?

Are we really okay with the current status quo?

How might we talk more about this?

Are we listening?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*This post was updated after the original publication for clarity purposes.