035: Trauma: The Invisible Backpack

When Dr. Peggy McIntosh first introduced the “Invisible Knapsack” concept in 1989, her focal point was based on the basic diversity, equity, and inclusion issues of the times, focusing on the differences primarily in race and gender. Using that same concept of the “Invisible Backpack” in 2016, Dr. Christina Watlington relates this to understanding childhood trauma similarly to McIntosh’s. Both of these women’s work is powerful and also empowering. Below I have broken down ways for you always to be aware of the invisible backpack when looking through a trauma-informed lens.

🤯Everyone has one, even if you don’t know.

🎒Some packs have a history of (or currently ongoing) abuse and neglect.

🎒Some packs have a history of experiencing a traumatic event or continuously living in trauma.

🎒Other packs hold invisible poor self-esteem and confidence.

🎒Some packs hold peer pressure, bullying, harassment, and mistreatment.

🎒Others hold perfectionism placed on their shoulders by a pushy adult (often a parent or coach) and sometimes self-imposed.

🎒Packs can hold situational moments- stress, worry, doubt…

🎒Some packs hold individual problems; others hold multiple people that one person has taken on (i.e., big brother left to care for younger siblings after parents were sent to jail the night before).

🎒Backpacks can be stuffed so full there’s no attempt to zip it closed, hence the spillover in their daily life and school setting of mental and behavioral health problems.

🎒Even if you don’t see the backpack... even when looking close...

it’s there.

🪨 And IT IS HEAVY.

🫶🏼 Understand that backpacks can’t be compared to one another. Even when the contents are not the same, the weight can be. And even when the contents are the same, the weight can differ.

🫶🏼 Pause and reconsider thoughts like, "Well, I dealt with my problems- they should too.” 

🫶🏼 Since thoughts and emotions shape how we interact with and respond to the world, it is difficult to just "leave a backpack at the door."

🫶🏼 Instead, offer to help them carry it.

🫶🏼 Listen. Actively listen.

🫶🏼 Empathize. You don’t have to have the same experiences to be empathetic to someone; you just need to be able to understand what they are feeling. 

🫶🏼 Don’t judge someone based on the backpack size, how beat up it might be, or especially the contents inside because chances are they aren’t the ones that put it all in the backpack, to begin with.

📚Looking to introduce the Invisible Backpack concept to students? Check out the story behind the children’s book, “Ezra’s Invisible Backpack.”

Written by Guest Blogger and Educator, Kristin Nori

Kristin Nori is a Compliance Officer, Behavior Specialist, SEL Coordinator, and teacher with over 23 years of experience in special education, trauma-informed practices, program development, and identifying opportunity gaps. She has extensive experience designing differentiated learning curricula, developing presentations, monitoring outcomes, and evaluating social emotional learning tactics.

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