Protecting Against COVID Trauma

Trauma is a natural response to events that threaten our physical or emotional health, safety, or security.  The term originally garnered attention in the context of veterans struggling to regulate after returning home from war, but this is an overly simplistic example of a human condition that shows up in many different ways in individuals, communities, and cultures.  Because trauma is a response, we often associate it with the past as we think about what happened and what impact it had. Even the most effective forms of trauma therapy require the client to spend more time than they’re comfortable with revisiting these past events until they can reestablish a sense of safety in the present.  

There is often an element of unknowing with trauma.  The brain and body become rightly focused on survival when you’re in the midst of a distressing experience, and it is not until much later when you start to uncover the lasting effects, if any, of that experience. These survival techniques are suitable for the original situation, and that’s precisely why it’s difficult to recognize trauma as it happens. 

But there are certain experiences, especially those that are prolonged and complex, that we know are likely to cause lasting trauma.  The COVID-19 pandemic is one of them.  

Over a million people have died and millions more have suffered through recovery.  Businesses have shuttered and livelihoods have been upended.  Families are going hungry, sinking into poverty for the first time.  Mental health issues are skyrocketing, substance abuse is on the rise, and people in abusive relationships are trapped at home with volatile partners.  All of this is disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities who are already living with trauma related to their persistent oppression (CDC, 2020).

Trauma can arise from directly experiencing or witnessing distressing events that cause or threaten harm.  When you apply this definition to the global scale of the COVID pandemic, it becomes clear that the risk of developing trauma from this experience is widespread.  In many ways we can see this becoming a shared or “collective” trauma, although each individual’s trauma response is unique.  

Even still, two individuals can have the exact same distressing experience and develop two completely different responses to it.  I’m currently working with a client who suffered through chronic sexual abuse in her home for several years when she was in elementary and middle school.*  Her sister, only a few years younger, experienced the same.  My client lives with several diagnosable mental health conditions (which, one could argue, are part of one big complex trauma response) and she’s married with two kids in a house she owns, working a job she loves.  Life is tough for her - and she’s a kickass parent, shows so much care for her profession, and is constantly dedicated to her self-improvement.  Her sister, on the other hand, is also a mother of two kids, but recently lost custody of them because of her severe mental health issues and potential abuse happening in her own home.  

You see, my client found opportunities to connect with a social group at school and had several healthy romantic relationships at a young age.  Her sister never found a sense of belonging at school and struggled to navigate relationships as she grew older, eventually falling into the abusive relationship she finds herself in now.  With this context, it’s clear how one sister could fare differently than the other.  After the initial abuse happened, each small event in their lives gradually took them in opposite directions.

So what can we learn from this story?  There are certain life circumstances that either increase or decrease the risk of developing trauma after a distressing experience. 

Factors that mitigate the impact of trauma are called protective factors.  Healthy caring relationships, access to services, and social-emotional awareness can shield us from some of the negative impacts of trauma and support our resilience.  Factors that exacerbate the impact of trauma are called risk factors.  Social isolation, substance abuse, and financial insecurity can keep the brain and body in a constant state of self-preservation. 

Many risk and protective factors are completely out of our control.  This includes genetics, harm caused by outside forces, where and to whom we were born, and social identifiers such as race and sex.  We do not have the choice of living with or without the COVID-19 pandemic - it is simply a part of our lives.  A Black American with asthma does not have control over how this disease will affect them compared to a White Canadian with no underlying medical issues.  As such, factors that seem individual (race) are actually systemic (how this race is treated in society).  Identities are not inherently risky or protective - it is the way institutions interact with them that make them so.

Individuals should not bear the burden of alleviating trauma caused by people in power who oppress them. Oppressive systems need to change. Until they do, we must recognize that we are not left powerless in how we adapt to distressing experiences.

There are also some risk and protective factors that are within our relative control.  

Healthy relationships are paramount to building resilience through trauma.  There’s a reason we gather to grieve.  We are social creatures who need to feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, not just to feel good, but to literally survive.  The more these relationships demonstrate trust, mutual support, and compassion, the more protection they will offer.

Stability and consistency at home help foster a sense of safety.  Trauma alerts us that we are not safe even when we are.  Sustaining routines, norms, and expectations at home can create a feeling of control over our environment.  Through practice, your brain and body can begin to decipher with more specificity when you’re actually unsafe and when you’re not.

Courageous coping requires you to confront your pain head-on.  It’s easier to avoid negative feelings by distracting, putting up a front, or using substances to escape.  Avoidance creates unresolved issues that will resurface at some point (trust me), so it’s better to process your emotions by sitting with them, talking through them, and observing what messages they’re sending you.

Support services such as therapy, child care, education, and financial assistance are crucial for preventing the compounding effects of trauma.  While access to these services is limited right now, there are ways to get creative about receiving support (and you’re certainly not the only one looking).  Many community organizations are offering free or low-cost workshops and there are tons of resources online.  Challenge yourself to reach out to others on social media and ask for what you need.

A growth mindset can help you shift from the perspective of a victim to one of a survivor.  Understanding the personal growth that can come from difficult experiences makes it easier to develop a sense of meaning about it all, especially in the context of your life trajectory.  If this sounds bogus to you, just consult Viktor Frankl and Carol Dweck.  

We are still in the midst of this distressing experience.  We will not know if we are traumatized from the pandemic until we know.  As with all forms of trauma, it will present itself when and how it chooses.  Worrying about the potential trauma is a risk factor in itself, as this will undoubtedly increase your stress levels and leave you feeling powerless.

So know this: there is power in information and action, but also acceptance.  Remember that you are a “person in environment”, and no matter how much you try to control your outcomes, things will not go as planned.  Whatever happens, your brain and body will develop strategies to survive - you just need to recognize when those strategies are no longer helpful.  

Lastly, healing is not a destination, it is a lifelong process. Healing may look like finding moments of safety or trusting someone in an intimate relationship. It is not “getting rid of trauma” or undoing what happened to you. Trauma will always be a part of your life narrative, but its role in this narrative can and will change over time.

If you or anyone you know needs help healing from trauma, please reach out to me for additional resources & information about therapy sessions. 

*Identifying information about my client has been altered to protect confidentiality