Lately things have really been getting to me. I find myself scrolling through my various social media sites and happening upon a story, both from people I know and from the news, covering a traumatic event that someone has experienced. Stories of people experiencing loss and pain. Each time I come across one of these stories I cannot help but click on the link to read more. Inevitably I wind up in tears or sick to my stomach with fear and despair for those that I have read about. Each and every one of these stories are important and most serve a greater purpose of awareness to an issue we are facing in our world today, or as a cautionary tale, but each of these is harmful to my well-being.
Vicarious Trauma isn’t something that we often talk about outside of the helping professions. Vicarious Trauma often also referred to as secondary trauma or compassion fatigue, occurs when a person is exposed indirectly to trauma. Helping professionals are often listening to a client recount their trauma history. This repeated exposure to indirect trauma can change your perspective on life. Those experiencing vicarious trauma may experience lasting feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety, or grief, they may feel numb to the world around them, or find themselves ruminating on trauma stories.
I no longer feel that this phenomenon is unique to those in the helping professions, but rather to those that are highly compassionate or empathetic in nature. Those feelings that others are experiencing feel all too real. I find myself wanting to help, but feeling helpless which can often lead me to feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of hopelessness are a slippery slope for me and can quickly lead me into a dark place where my generally positive outlook on the world around me and my beliefs in the greater good are hard to find.
So how do we manage or prevent the impact of Vicarious Trauma?
Manage exposure
No I cannot cut myself completely off from humanity, but I can limit how much trauma and pain I am exposing myself to. am a strong believer that with our children we should give them information in amounts that their brains can digest. Why am I not applying this same information to my own information intake? This may mean scrolling past some of the stories shared on social media or turning off the news. This doesn’t mean that I don’t care, but rather that I will be better at caring for others if my efforts are focused.
Focus on your well-being
I don’t know about you but when I am not eating and sleeping well I do not respond to stressors as effectively as I do when these are a priority. Taking time to take stock of your personal health will ensure that you are in the best place to ensure that you are not owning the pain of the world. How can you be a support to a friend in need of emotional support if you are not emotionally fit yourself?
Connect with like-minded people
I am surrounded by wonderful people every day, they do amazing things, and one of those amazing things is to pull me out of my own head. Finding a group of like-minded people can help put perspective to feeling that can often seem too great for only one person. These support systems remind us that we are not in this alone. One question to ask yourself though is are these people lifting you out of darkness or feeding the despair monster?
Do Something
Take back your power and get involved. There are so many ways to volunteer within our community, but making a direct contribution isn’t the only way to make a difference. Politics got you down? Vote. Seeing injustice on every street corner? Find a rally or an organization working to change laws. Heartbroken over another child diagnosed with a terrible illness? Take up a collection of comfort items to donate to a children’s hospital.
Get Help
Trauma, direct or indirect, is not something that should be left unaddressed, and if you or those around you feel that you could use some help from a professional there is no shame in that.
It would be so easy with all the pain and trauma I am connected to through social media and the media to let it change my world views. But I believe in the greater good, that most people are doing the best that they can do, and that there are more people in the world trying to help others rather than harm them. I have enduring hope in human kind and won’t let anything change.
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