Should We Get Back on the Horse?

In 2005, I was physically assaulted.

In 2005, I was physically assaulted while riding my bicycle to work. Both police officers on the scene told me to ride my bike to work the next day or I never would. They assured me it was very unlikely I would experience another random assault. By successfully riding my bike down that pathway again, I would realize it is safe and overcome the fear.

My psychologist told me that after a Big T Trauma like assault, the key to healing is to protect the brain from fear and give it time to recover. She said if I was too scared to walk to the store on the corner, I should ask someone to go for me. Certainly I should not ride my bike to work. Forcing that would drive the fear underground and lead to longer term anxiety. By experiencing safety from fear, my brain would recover. My natural resilience and strength would come back and I would be able to move back into the world without fear.

We are participating in a huge social experiment around fear and threat with the global pandemic. No matter how directly we are affected by Covid-19, we are all changed in important ways.

People have strong opinions on whether we are harming or hurting children through online teaching. Some feel we are depriving them of the opportunity to engage socially with peers. Others are…