Yes, tools for empowerment which are also tools for recovery. I first would like to quote one of my early mentors, French philosopher and mystic, Simone Weil, who once wrote: "The day a man becomes a slave, he loses half his soul.
Like everyone else, I am greatly pleased that slavery no longer exists, at least as a sanctioned institution. When slavery was abolished in the 1820's in the British Empire, then in the US in the 1860's, psychiatry as a science and medical practice was still in its early infancy. Therefore, there have been very few first-hand case studies available about the psychological impact of being a slave. This I do regret, because I would have liked to access such information, but it is much better that slavery was abolished anyway, so I am happy to use guesswork and speculation.
I would imagine that being made a slave would be one of the ultimate experiences of trauma because it is so blatantly dehumanizing. One person completely robbing the other of their personhood in order to possess and use them for their own utility and often for abuse. In Medieval Spain as among the Mexica, slavery was a well-established institution. No one cared a rat's ass about the psychological damage inflicted on the people they owned. They were regarded as possessions, much as lawnmowers or dishwashers or computers. Being actual human beings with souls, minds, emotions and dignity of course really changed the dynamic.
I cannot accept that slave-owners were always in complete and absolute denial about the humanity of the people they presumed to own. The utter soul destruction, for slave-owners as well as for the slaves themselves must have been monumental. There would have still been human interaction, however subtle or undisclosed on a multiple of levels. For this reason slaves could easily become sexual partners, or elevated into positions of trust and confidence, becoming almost like trusted friends. But never real friends since, being owned, they could not possibly be regarded as their masters' equals, even if they were their equals, and sometimes very much their superiors in talent, intelligence and human dignity.
We still have to sort through vestiges of slavery in everyday life, especially in the social hierarchies of the workplace and living in rental accommodations. Even though neither employer nor landlord can own our souls they still have considerable power over our wellbeing and many of us live one firing and one renoviction away from ending up on the street. We almost all have to live under this kind of prolonged stress, and it does impact us in the long run. We still always have to watch our back, knowing that the little we have for keeping body and soul together can be easily taken away from us, by one stroke of the pen, or simply by pressing Send.
This is the subtle environment of trauma that those of us in mental health recovery have to learn to negotiate and triumph over. Herein lies our tools of recovery.
I like to think of it as taking back our lives. Learning to live with a sense and intensity of personal dignity that is independent of the good will of others, especially of such individuals and parties as have the power to harm us if they so choose.
The process of recovery is not without risk. Indeed, if we are going to learn how to negotiate life victoriously and triumphantly we have to learn to do it without fear. This has nothing to do with arrogantly lashing out or fighting back; this is about empowerment. It is also about treating triggers more like stepping stones than obstacles.
Full disclosure here: I am a trauma survivor, and right now, today, I am negotiating a trigger. I cannot go into detail, but recently I was inappropriately touched by an individual with whom I am professionally involved. The last three days have been difficult as I have been fielding some very intense emotions that have been surfacing for me. On the other hand, I am learning a lot about myself through this experience, and now that I have connected my emotional turmoil with this client touching me inappropriately, I am feeling better, more settled.
I am also feeling empowered. Our healing is a sure bet when we take courage and face the darkness and those demons that lurk in hidden corners. It isn't always enjoyable, but it is always so much better once the hidden forces of darkness are dragged out into the light.
"The truth shall make you free."-Jesus of Nazareth
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