Taming the Beast [Mass Market Paperback]

I then began working with bank tellers and saw how many of them suffered from the same post traumatic stress reactions we associated with Vietnam War Veterans. But it was only when I began working in an employee assistance program consultant in a hospital, that I really began to see a pattern. Nurses and patient care attendants also were shaken up by what seemed to be relatively minor incidents of abuse from patients. I began asking myself what was it about the incidents that caused nurses, bank tellers, bus drivers and secretaries to have similar trauma reactions. I realized the common denominator was about abuse, not only the more extreme forms like assault and murder, but everyday incidents of screaming, put downs and psychological head games we all experience at work and do nothing about. Bewildered employees always asked me the same questions. "Why is this happening to me? Why are I the only one falling apart? Why doesn't anyone understand what I'm going through." At the same time, I could see by the reactions of their families and employers that they were at a loss to know what to do and how to help. What I wanted to do was answer their questions and make sense of the workplace violence phenomenon. Why are so many employees affected by trauma? Why are incidents tolerated? Why do they get repeated? How can we stop the abuse and bring about change? The result is Taming the Beast: Getting Violence out of the Workplace.