I am motivated to continue with my volunteering experience because of a caller I had one night when I had hotline duty. The caller had been raped several years before and was a repeat caller, who just needed to talk when the nightmares came. In the morning, at the end of my volunteer shift, she phoned me back to thank me and to tell me that, after talking to me, she had been able to sleep through the night for the first time in years.

Journal Entry 5: Partner Abuse

Take the Domestic Violence Screening Quiz at http://psychcentral.com/dvquiz.htm. andshare your thoughts on living with domestic violence. How could you help, and what would you say to a friend who was experiencing domestic abuse?

My domestic violence screening score was a 3. I am not in an abusive relationship and have committed myself to never being a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence. If I had a friend in a violent relationship, I would offer support and assistance, if asked for it. I would be nonjudgmental and not push him or her to leave his or her partner or make other decisions that I would feel would be more conducive to his or her health or welfare. I understand that it takes the average battering victim 7 attempts to leave before leaving a batterer and that, at least for battered women, the threat of deadly violence is the greatest immediately following breaking up with a batterer. However, if that friend had children who were being exposed to the violence, I would immediately inform the police and child protective services. I do not agree with the position taken by many domestic violence organizations that battered women should not be threatened with state-sanctioned removal of their children if they expose their children to abuse in a home. I believe that both parents are responsible...

Every person should memorize the number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE, which can place people in contact with their local domestic violence assistance organizations. In my area, one such organization is the El Paso Center Against Family Violence. It works with victims, providing emergency shelter, legal assistance, counseling, children's services, therapy, and legal and non-legal advocacy. Furthermore, it also coordinates a battering intervention and prevention program with domestic violence offenders. One can reach them at.
Journal Entry 6: Stress

At this point in my life, I am dealing with some very stressful situations, which I have no control over, including the death of a family member. However, I am always being told that I cope with stress very well, and the results of my test verify those statements. I use exercise as a means of coping with stress, which is helpful. I also turn to friends, family, and an online support group for help coping. Though I have not sought out a mental-health professional in the past year, I would do so if I felt that it would help me to do so. I use both problem-solving and information seeking as ways of coping with stress. The test warned me that problem-solving skills might actually increase anxiety, because not all stressful situations can be solved or controlled. However, I believe that one can apply problem-solving skills to managing a stressful situation, which is what I believe that I do. The results did not address the fact that I feel very angry when I deal with stress or suggest to me how to deal with that.