In the system of coaching I use, we recognize five levels of injury. Sometimes a traumatic experience or witnessing a traumatic event are what causes our injury, or it could be a loss or a failure. At the first level of injury we recover quickly and carry on. If a second trauma or injury hits us before we have recovered from the first, a compound, or level two injury occurs and we go down for a time but are still able to recover on our own through our normal social supports.
If we cannot recover and start to fall behind in our lives, this is more serious (level three) and requires professional support for recovery. Without outside help, what often happens at this level of injury is referred to as “stacking.” Stacking is a buildup of small stressors and obstacles over time that lead to more failure. Once we enter this level four or five crisis management mode, everything in our daily life becomes a struggle and this stress over time damages us physically.
When a person is in this much emotional pain, they are vulnerable to suicidal thoughts as well as drug or alcohol abuse. This is because they are looking for a way to escape the pain and stress, without doing the hard work this will require. The treatment team, such as a coach, therapist, and addiction specialist, has to convince the individual that life is worth the effort. The starting place for coaching at this level of injury involves introducing micro-habits and micro-goals, such as dressing up in our best outfit and sitting for an hour in a coffee shop each week. Like an athlete we are conditioned and built up slowly over time, but life is worth recovering for.