How to Heal From Public (Vicarious) Trauma

Source: Andreas160578/ Pixabay

Do you watch the news every morning? Or, do you read it on your phone or laptop? Each day, media outlets report on public emergencies, such as forest fires, active shooters, public court hearings, and the like.

With each event comes a wave of public trauma, the widespread act of being exposed to a potentially traumatic event via the media or the news is filled with a hidden grief response. Hence why so many folks, including me sometimes, stay away from the news. Yet, if I stay away for too long, there’s a sense of being out of touch, which is uncomfortable in a different way.

Needing to choose what to listen to and what to avoid is entrenched in the question: “Will this be traumatic to listen to or will the content enable further conversation with peers and colleagues?” What I know as a grief and trauma therapist is this: Being informed is one thing, but living in a state of vicarious trauma is entirely different.

Public (Vicarious) Trauma

Public trauma, or vicarious trauma, refers to indirect exposure to a potentially traumatic event. This kind of secondary trauma is different from personal trauma. Watching spousal abuse at the hands of your parents is categorized as personal trauma because you were a participant and witness to the traumatic event.

Watching the news, listening to a survivor’s story, watching a topic-triggering documentary, or witnessing a tragic event can cause vicarious trauma; it takes various forms. These events are cause for mass concern. The anxiety response within the body is as if an assault or accident has happened in real time and affects people as if they have become silent victims.

If you’ve experienced trauma, viewing it, via the news or on social media, may be comfortable because it’s familiar. It’s relational in some way, and rather than avoiding it, you might be drawn into its content. It sounds strange, yet, as humans we are attracted to what we know, how we were treated by parents or guardians or others who were supposed to protect and love us but didn’t. Leaving the child with scars of trauma rather than unconditional, primal parental love.

What Causes Reaction to Public Trauma?

Over time, as trauma gets internalized, feelings of stress and anxiety increase if that which is internalized is not either explored with a professional or soothed on one’s own through self-help books, exercise, and breathing. When left untreated and unaddressed, public trauma can manifest itself in the psyche, causing symptoms synonymous with PTSD. It can also cause something I call PTT, or post-trauma trauma. It’s not a disorder, but rather a natural response to a devastating experience that is witnessed as a bystander who, even as an objective observer, gets caught in the moment of a traumatic incident.

This kind of public trauma exists along a broad spectrum: On one end there are behavioral changes and cognitive disturbances. On the other end of the spectrum is dissociative thinking and separation from the self: Carrying mace, refusing to leave your drink unattended in a public place, and purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) are all common responses to public trauma. Beginning to lock your front door after hearing of a friend’s recent mugging is an example of the behavioral reactivity to a situation that is once removed from the experience. None of these responses are inherently negative on their own, however, reflect a widespread fear undoubtedly perpetuated as a result of exposure to trauma.

First responders, such as nurses, firefighters, doctors, and police officers are particularly prone to public trauma, as they receive a first glimpse of the carnage these disastrous events leave in their wake.

Symptoms of public trauma include (but are not limited to):

• Nightmares and insomnia
• Food and eating-related issues
• Changes in mood
• Relationship changes and social withdrawal
• Apathy
• Loss of motivation
• Distancing from spiritual beliefs
• Stress-related medical conditions

These symptoms—emotional, physical, and behavioral—are serious and warrant addressing.

Remove the Trauma Mask

The psyche responds to trauma in a variety of ways, each worth addressing:

• Masking the result of your public trauma is common, but is no less a negative reaction. Survivors of trauma living through resulting grief and anguish engage in behaviors—referred to as masking behaviors—to conceal elements of the self that are healing from trauma. When we mask, we ensure that people only see what we want them to see, which is often a far cry from how we truly feel. It’s a means of self-protection, but it’s not helping you heal.

Trauma Essential Reads

The Debate Over Trauma in the New DSM Revision

How We Help Each Other Heal

• Your inner voice, and inner critic, often swell as a result of public trauma. The inner critic’s voice becomes oppressive and tells you to change elements of who you are and how you normally behave. When these voices invade your inner thoughts, acknowledge them. Awareness is key to healing from public trauma.

• Public trauma changes your relationships and the ways you interact with those around you. After exposure to public trauma, you’ll likely notice yourself disengaging from certain individuals in your inner circle. Doing so isn’t a healthy way to cope with trauma, and can be detrimental to your healing process.

How to Cope

"Trauma (Storm)" by Gregory Orr:

Hunkered down, nerve-numb

in the carnal hut

the cave of self,

while outside a storm rages.

Huddled there,

rubbing together

white sticks of

your own ribs,

praying for sparks

in that dark

where tinder is heart,

where tender is not.

Coping with public trauma or vicarious trauma isn’t easy, but with awareness and proper foresight, you can disengage from the oppressive psychological and physical symptoms you experience as a result.

• Disengage from the stimuli. It’s okay to step away from a conversation or from the TV when you find yourself becoming stressed. Public trauma operates on the internalization of external messages, so the first step is to be aware of how you’re receiving these. Acknowledge when the information you’re receiving is causing you pain, and find peace in your ability to step away.

• Seek social support. Disengaging from others is a common symptom of trauma, but social support is a key way to heal from vicarious trauma. Seek refuge in conversations with those around you, and share how the event made you think and feel. Public trauma is widespread, and it’s likely that others feel similarly to you.

• Attend sessions with a licensed professional. Public trauma is valid and widespread, and a therapist or counselor can help you heal from the aftermath. There are people in your corner, and a professional can help you discern public trauma and current events from real feelings of fear and panic.

While public trauma is common and sweeping, you have options to counter the devastating effects of its potency. Please know that you are not alone in this pursuit: Public trauma is everywhere and affects people living in places where they are exposed to repetitive external traumatic stories that are unrelenting in nature and are presented to create more public fervor and engagement.

Disengaging from it may be difficult for you, as it acts as a stimulant and a meter of a certain aliveness. Yet, if there’s an attraction to public trauma and you are drawn to it, focus on separating from it, while creating alternatives to include exercise, socialization, and journaling. These are the first steps to healing of the self.

Disengage from public trauma and focus on internal healing today.

Seeking professional help or interventions, especially if you are feeling suicidal, is especially important. If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. For help 24/7 dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.