Side Effects

Side Effects is a memoir of a nurse's journey through Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) toward a renewed sense of physical, mental and spiritual well being. It provides an insider perspective on how STS can accumulate over time affecting both professional and personal aspects of a person's life. Similar in many ways to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), STS can leave sufferers emotionally withdrawn, depressed, angry and feeling hopeless. This loss of quality of life not only affects the individual, but their families and friends as well. Secondary Traumatic Stress is a potential outcome for anyone witnessing and/or treating the trauma or suffering of others. Professionals such as nurses, doctors, first responders (police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics) as well as lawyers, child welfare workers, correctional officers and informal caregivers are all at risk. But STS does not need to be a life sentence. Overcoming traumatic stress is possible and can even be transformational as this heartwarming and sometimes humorous story about hope and healing suggests.