Coping with Global Events When You Have Past Trauma
Coping with Global Events When You Have Past Trauma
In today’s world, it’s impossible to escape news about global events. We are bombarded by news and discussion constantly from every direction at all hours of the day—from many sources and many perspectives. From political upheavals to environmental crises, these occurrences shape our daily lives. Global events like political discord or hurricanes can be happening elsewhere and unsettle us or they can be happening right in our own families and communities. For people with a history of trauma, the impact of these events can feel even more profound.
The Connection Between Trauma and Global Events
Trauma, especially when unprocessed, can significantly alter our worldview. A study by Kleim and colleagues (2008) published in Psychological Trauma found that trauma survivors more often develop significant negative expectations, which can influence their responses to global events. Situations might be perceived even more negatively due to the tendency for traumatic experiences to distort our beliefs about how dangerous something might be or the likelihood of a bad outcome and a sense of vulnerbility. As a result people with a history of trauma can, and often do, experience heightened levels of anxiety and distress when exposed to global crises. This felt helplessness, in the face of the seeming vastness of global issues may mirror feelings of powerlessness experienced in past traumatic events. Our brains react to the similarity of the feelings – of being overwhelmed by something that feels as if it will have a very bad outcome and it is going to hurt us and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. In addition to feelings of anxiety, worry and stress, we may have feelings of shame and guilt (somehow feeling responsible for our inability to fix things or because we aren’t suffering as much as someone else). We might feel numb and withdraw from life and feeling anything. This might also show up as physical symtoms like headaches, and back pain and poor sleep.
Given the enhanced negative impact on those of us who have experienced trauma, particularly those who haven’t resolved that trauma, it is even more important to develop ways to cope and start to heal. Now is a great time to work on those things as it seems that these events are happening with more frequency or more intensity or our exposure to them has become so pervasive.
Coping Strategies
There are some ways that we can begin in to navigate these challenges:
1. Limit Media Consumption: That might sound like a tall order!! I mean those little rectangular things we carry around are everywhere we go, right!? And I know you can’t turn them off all the time. And while staying informed is important, you also don’t have to be constantly consuming negative news. Read the headlines, find a daily digest. Pick one source, and check it once a day. In other words, set boundaries on how much time you spend on news and social media. Turn it off some of the time. Stop talking about the difficult stuff all the time. Balance your focus with other things- Yes, kitten videos, are ok if you have to be on a screen, or watch something that makes you laugh- the hearty belly kind of laugh.
2. Practice Mindfulness: Engaging in mindfulness exercises, such as those suggested by the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, can help reduce anxiety and promote emotional regulation. Walk in nature, practice breathing, be present with the beauty that surrounds you.
3. Seek Support: As recommended by the National Institute of Mental Health, talking to a therapist or joining a support group can provide a safe space to process feelings and gain perspective. Or get support from friends and like-minded people who can help you feel heard and validated and also perhaps offer some hope.
4. Focus on What You Can Control: According to the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), redirecting your focus towards actions within your control can mitigate feelings of helplessness. Be intentional about challenging some of those negative expectations. If it hasn’t happened yet, then don’t live as if it has. Also go and do things that you can concretely and tangibly feel the results of. Build something; do some advocacy work; send a letter; write a song; cut your grass.
5. Stay Connected: Maintaining connections with friends and loved ones, as highlighted in studies on social support, can act as a powerful buffer against stress. Reach out to people you haven’t talked to in a while. Make some new friends. Fight the urge to hide out in your home and shut out the world. Even talking to people in your neighborhood or community, like the person at the store on the corner, can make you feel less stressed and alone.
6. Heal your trauma: Seeking therapy to enhance your coping as mentioned in all of the above ways is very useful—to work on mindfulness, and to work on thought patterns. In addition, however, these ways and other approaches used in therapy like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), IFS (Internal Family Systems), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy), and more are immensely helpful in the journey to regaining a sense of agency and confidence in one’s resilience.
By acknowledging the impact of trauma on our perceptions and implementing these coping strategies and beginning our healing, we can navigate the complexities of global events with greater resilience and hope.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, and you need help, we have some help for you at Counseling Associates for Well-Being.
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