Collecive Trauma
It can seem like the bad news never stops. We have more access to news and faster, from further reaches of the world, than any society before us. Many individuals feel horror at the plight of immigrants and refugees in our world today; are angered over continued racism against non-white communities; are grieved by spiritual trauma enacted by religious institutions that are meant to honour and protect people; are horrified by the revealing of the Epstein files, and experience deep grief about the impact of industrial consumer societies on the natural world. Many people we meet follow geopolitical issues and hold concern for the ongoing violence and instability in many regions of the world. For some, the cost of living feels very acute on a daily basis, as prices are raised by tariffs, climate change and other factors outside our control.
What does it mean to hold all these realities simultaneously, as we still need to get dressed in the morning, support our livelihoods, and maintain healthy connections with others? Many people express feeling grief, anger, rage and even despair at the state of the world. What does it mean to allow these emotions and recognize what they are signalling to us, while still maintaining health and functioning in our day to day lives? We could list many more troubling realities and tragedies that have occurred or are unfolding right now. Leaving something out for the sake of this short reflection does not mean it doesn’t count, we simply can’t list everything all at once. Whatever is touching you with sadness, grief, anger or hopelessness, is valid and worthy of attention.
The concept of collective trauma refers to how our bodies and nervous systems are impacted by danger, tragedy and grief alongside each other as we all simultaneously try to make sense of events in the world. Many of us are taught that anxiety, low mood, uncomfortable emotions and grief are issues to bring to therapy to be solved in order to improve our mental health. Feeling deeply what is happening in our country and in the world is a sign of connectedness, empathy and wholeness. What these emotions also indicate is that caring is intact; feeling upset can often indicate a sense that things are not right, and point to a deep desire for the wealthiest of our world to be held accountable, for the natural world to flourish, for equality to be real and not an ideal, and for the children of our world to be protected, prioritized, safe.
Signs of collective trauma however, may also be occurring wordlessly, which many of us can feel, in the tension in our bodies, in our sense of dread, feeling unsafe, reactive or frozen. If you are experiencing fight-flight or freeze symptoms that feel like they are connected to more than events happening in your personal life, take a moment to check in about how events and issues in the society and the world at large might be impacting your sense of safety, hope and connection. Just as with individual trauma we carry, it can help to have others name and validate how we feel, and to have spaces to share and process our deeply felt experience. These emotions become problematic if we are left alone with our experiences and are stuck in them, having no place to connect with others, with nature and with things that help us feel not so alone with the darkness around us.
What does it mean to live with the reality that grief and recognition of how collective trauma is impacting you, may be a necessary path in this season? Know that there are countless others who also feel the weight of collective trauma from instability and countless injustices in the world right now, and the onslaught of disheartening news. If you are recognizing you don’t have spaces to talk about how collective trauma is impacting you, don’t hesitate to reach out for support.
Photo by Wang Sheeran on Unsplash