I Broke My Own Rules
As a traumatologist, I’m well aware that perseverating on traumatic images does not actually help us avoid PTSI. Please read or listen to my blog, Why Bunnies Don’t Get PTSI. There might be something helpful for you in it as we are exposed to image after image of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
I know this stuff. I teach this stuff, And yet, there I was, scrolling reel after reel of hurricane damage in Tennessee and North Carolina. This reinforces once again that knowing about things does not necessarily mean we’re going to do them well. Humanning is hard.
Fortunately, my daughter, who is also a mental health professional, was there with me and caught me in the act. “Ma? Is that actually helping?” She said gently. Nope. Not one bit. I put the phone down.
Brains and Trauma
The brain geek in me is fascinated, studying my own unhelpful behavior. I find myself drawn to these images for a number of reasons:
- Because I care about humans, and this is a “whole ‘nother level awful” event.
- Because I have quite a few friends and distant family members in the areas of Tennessee in North Carolina that I’ve been isolated and/or flattened.
- Beyond that, this is ancestral land. I’m thinking about the effects on the ecosphere, the critters, the historical record of the Earth, and the injuries to the planet herself.
But there’s another wrinkle to my sucker punch gut reaction: Epigenetics.
It’s in the DNA
Markers for trauma are passed along with our DNA from generation to generation. I have always had strong reactions to hurricanes and floods, but I never knew why. I mean, duh, hurricanes are terrifying and can have terrifying effects. My reaction has always felt a little out of proportion to my usual responses to human suffering.
As some of you know, I’ve been quite involved in studying my family's genealogy and the hidden history of the United States for the past six or so years. My family has had a complicated habit of not telling our stories for a number of importantly protective reasons. While I do (mostly) understand my ancestors' choices, this has not done well for our psychological health or our relationships.
One of the family stories that I had never been told is that members of my mother’s family had moved from Missouri to Texas to help establish the town of Port Arthur. That town was completely wiped out by a hurricane in 1919. My twice great grandmother and twice great aunt were killed in a tidal wave along with hundreds of other Port Arthur residents. The entire infrastructure was destroyed.
Secondary Trauma
Secondary trauma is very real, as is epigenetics. Something deep within me fires for trauma that I did not personally experience when I witness something that my gut brain reads as familiar. This is not some unique-to-me experience. Anyone can experience secondary trauma.
The news industry and politics thrive on our fear. Finding that balance between being informed, looking for ways we can help, (click here,) and avoiding traumatization, is imperative to the health and well-being of the entire human family. If we really want to be helpful, we need to be as whole, healed, and resilient as possible.
I’m asking you to review all of the “get off your last nerve techniques.” (You can find the first one here. The others are on my YouTube channel under the title, “From ACK Brain to Ahhhhh Brain.”) Use the techniques liberally even if you don’t think you need them. Stay mindful of how much time and attention trauma content is getting. Coming up for air to remember what’s good, what’s fun, and what’s just plain goofy can help to reset our systems, making us much more helpful to those within our reach.
Let’s love one another well, do all that we can, (including pacing our efforts,) and generate as little PTSI as possible.