Some of us come to our jobs with a history of trauma, some of us have been dealing with trauma or vicarious trauma for years. We need to know ourselves and “go gentler” so we can be more effective.

Talking about trauma in the workplace can be confusing — the word trauma gets used interchangeably for all situations, but not all trauma is the same. The definition of an acute or single-incident trauma is “an experience or event that overwhelms our capacity to defend or protect ourselves.” The hallmarks of trauma are helplessness and fear.

The connection between leadership and trauma has always been personal for me. The day my therapist diagnosed me with PTSD was both a relief and a turning point that takes on more significance as I look in the rearview mirror. The relief came from having a name and an explanation for what I was experiencing. The turning point was leaving a career I loved.

If you work in spaces of trauma, you sacrifice part of your worldview and part of your inner experience to your work. You cannot unknow the hard and awful things that exist in the world and you cannot unknow your own fragility and powerlessness in the face of such tragedy and despair.