- Listen, listen, listen. When a child skins his knee, his first impulse is to run to Mommy or Daddy for comfort. But an abused child may never even have had that option. So as an adult, he still has that same need
, to tell, to talk it out, to be comforted by a sympathetic listener. - Speak consolingly. Each individual is unique. Similarly, telling abuse survivors simply to forget the past may do more harm than good. If they could do so, likely they would have
and would not have needed help to arrive at such a simple solution. Remember, theirs is a severe emotional trauma. For comparison’s sake, just imagine coming upon a car crash victim lying moaning amid the wreckage. Would you just tell him not to think about the pain? Clearly, more is needed. If you are not sure that what you are saying is consoling and helpful, why not ask the depressed one?
THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!