Read on Twitter
This pandemic is the largest collective trauma anyone alive has experienced.
Thinking about it through that lens has helped me process what we're going through, and surprisingly generated some hope, too.
Here is some of the relevant research:
(1/n)
Thinking about it through that lens has helped me process what we're going through, and surprisingly generated some hope, too.
Here is some of the relevant research:
(1/n)
Trauma is the experience of severe distress, often following terrible experiences, commonly but not always involving the threat of death.
But there's a broader way of thinking about traumas: as "seismic" psychological events that shatters our assumptions about life.
(2/n)
But there's a broader way of thinking about traumas: as "seismic" psychological events that shatters our assumptions about life.
(2/n)
As Ronnie Janoff Bulman writes, many people implicitly believe the world is generally safe and just, that they are protected from tragedy.
Traumas puncture those assumptions, and shock us into realizing how fragile life is.
(3/n) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307923658_Assumptive_worlds_and_the_stress_of_traumatic_events_Applications_of_the_schema_construct
Traumas puncture those assumptions, and shock us into realizing how fragile life is.
(3/n) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307923658_Assumptive_worlds_and_the_stress_of_traumatic_events_Applications_of_the_schema_construct
That's part of what many of us are experiencing now. Grief over what we've lost, vulnerability about what we can so easily lose, and a lack of control.
March was terrible, but April will be worse, and our shared trauma will likely deepen.
(4/n) https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
March was terrible, but April will be worse, and our shared trauma will likely deepen.
(4/n) https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
Trauma also lingers, famously in PTSD, an increased sense of fear and vulnerability even after traumatic events are long over.
We'll long bear financial, social, and psychological scars from this pandemic. I can't imagine crowding into a concert hall even years from now.
(5/n)
We'll long bear financial, social, and psychological scars from this pandemic. I can't imagine crowding into a concert hall even years from now.
(5/n)
But PTSD has a lesser known foil: post-traumatic growth, or PTG.
After suffering trauma, many people discover a renewed sense of purpose, deeper connection to others, and greater spirituality.
(6/n) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327965pli1501_01
After suffering trauma, many people discover a renewed sense of purpose, deeper connection to others, and greater spirituality.
(6/n) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327965pli1501_01
To continue the seismic metaphor: once their psychological foundations are shaken, they rebuild, focusing on what matters most.
PTG is quite common, with one meta-analysis finding about half of trauma survivors report moderate to high levels.
(7/n)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30268956
PTG is quite common, with one meta-analysis finding about half of trauma survivors report moderate to high levels.
(7/n)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30268956
There is some evidence PTG can be collective. After 9/11 and the 2004 Madrid bombings, people report high levels of social support and connectedness.
This is especially when people engage in collective processing of trauma, like demonstrations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30268956https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00511.x
(8/n)
This is especially when people engage in collective processing of trauma, like demonstrations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30268956https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00511.x
(8/n)
After the VA Tech shooting, increased social support tracked *reductions* in depression and anxiety among a small subset of students, and maintenance of mental health among many more.
(9/n) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282337523_Can_People_Benefit_From_Acute_Stress_Social_Support_Psychological_Improvement_and_Resilience_After_the_Virginia_Tech_Campus_Shootings
(9/n) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282337523_Can_People_Benefit_From_Acute_Stress_Social_Support_Psychological_Improvement_and_Resilience_After_the_Virginia_Tech_Campus_Shootings
Across individual and collective trauma, it seems a key to recovery and PTG is connecting with other people who have "been there," experiencing similar suffering.
In an important way, that's now all of us.
(10/n)
In an important way, that's now all of us.
(10/n)
No one in the middle of a trauma should be told to be optimistic, and I don't feel optimistic now.
But it's useful to acknowledge we don't know all the ways this tragedy will affect us.
We will continue to suffer in many ways. We might also focus more on what matters.
(11/n)
But it's useful to acknowledge we don't know all the ways this tragedy will affect us.
We will continue to suffer in many ways. We might also focus more on what matters.
(11/n)
Our assumptions are being shattered, but some were wrong to begin with. In many ways, the world is *not* safe or just.
The vulnerability of this moment might open us to care more deeply for others who chronically deal with insecurity and fear.
(12/n)
The vulnerability of this moment might open us to care more deeply for others who chronically deal with insecurity and fear.
(12/n)
We've stumbled into a more local, more sustainable way of life.
We might hold onto it, and rediscover our neighbors, realize we can work across distance without damaging the climate.
(13/n)
We might hold onto it, and rediscover our neighbors, realize we can work across distance without damaging the climate.
(13/n)
Our loved ones, and our health, are fragile. Realizing this, we might love them and ourselves better.
This trauma will be part of our lives for years. Hopefully eventually we can find some ways to learn and grow together through it.
(14/14)
This trauma will be part of our lives for years. Hopefully eventually we can find some ways to learn and grow together through it.
(14/14)
Edit to the first tweet: the largest collective trauma *most* people alive have ever experienced.
There are of course people who went through the Holocaust and WW2 who are still alive today.
Thanks for clarifying, @NivReggev.
There are of course people who went through the Holocaust and WW2 who are still alive today.
Thanks for clarifying, @NivReggev.
