Practising self-care during traumatic times
Credit to Author: Carter Hammett| Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 22:46:55 +0000
Let’s be frank: the world can be a pretty terrible place. Conflict in places like Ukraine, Israel and Syria has disrupted thousands of lives. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (unhcr.org), there are over 120 million displaced people throughout the world, more than any other time in recorded history. That means that roughly one in 69 people are forcibly displaced with millions more displaced within their own countries.
Whether directly or indirectly, people are dealing with traumatic events like war, terrorism, natural disasters, food insecurity, territorial disputes and all the byproducts that go along with events like these. People might be victimized for their gender or on the receiving end of identity-based hate in their everyday lives -they may be sitting in their living rooms watching reports of countries they fled or constantly exposing themselves to negative imagery and reports on social media by doomscrolling’
The cumulative impact of all this can be devastating on your mental health. Indeed, The World Health Organization (who.int) estimates that roughly 70 per centof all people globally will experience at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. An estimated 3.9 per cent of the world’s population will experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in their lives, but only one-in-four will seek help for it. Rates of PTSD are up to three times higher in those exposed to war or violence and even higher following sexual violence.
But being exposed to a crisis can trigger a wide range of emotional responses. It’s important to recognize that there’s no single ‘correct’ way to respond to a given event. Some common responses include:
• Depression – a sense of powerlessness and hopelessness and not knowing how to help
• Anxiety – in response to the unknown and the reality that there could real dangers present
• Anger – some people feel triggered and fueled by rage, but this could in turn simply trigger more violence
• Guilt – some people may feel this emotion because they are safe, yet know that victims of violence remain threatened, and this may trigger feelings of powerlessness
• Grief – feelings that somewhere in the world trauma occurs and people are suffering.
It’s vital to realize that all these feelings are normal. There are many more responses ranging from hope to jealousy and everything in between. It’s also normal to experience a spectrum of emotional responses simultaneously.
Doomscrolling
In tandem with these emotions, some people fall into the habit of doomscrolling, which has been gaining significant attention during the last two decades.
As its name implies, doomscrolling is getting stuck in an unhealthy loop of scrolling through negative news stories and social media outlets that are filled with doom-and-gloom content. This behaviour can amplify mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, reinforce negative thoughts and beliefs as well as generate sleep problems by overstimulating the brain, especially late at night.
Ironically, repetitive doomscrolling enables the brain to release dopamine, which acts as the brain’s reward system, despite the negative content. Younger people whose brains are still developing, may be more impacted by the accumulation of negative material they come across.
But what can I do?
It’s important to realize that self-care can play a vital role in helping you cope with the effects of global crises and managing your emotional responses. Here are a few suggestions for self-care:
• Learning mindfulness and stress management strategies, which might include exercises like box breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Try apps like Calm which offer meditation techniques or a cognitive behavioral therapy app like Sanvello to help you work through difficult emotions
• Normalizing daily routines as much as possible
• Setting time limits on exposing yourself to social media and news outlets
• Being mindful of your own trauma responses and making adjustments to manage these
• Connecting with others for meaningful interaction; asking for help if necessary
Finally, it’s important to acknowledge negative emotions without dwelling on them. Emotions are really messages that are there to guide and protect us. When we’re most aware of them, our emotional states can help us deal with the complex feelings triggered by global unrest and uncertainty.
Global conflict won’t be going away anytime soon but with greater self-awareness and mindfulness we can learn positive behavioural and emotional coping strategies that promote healing and clarity.
RESOURCES YOU CAN USE
• Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture: https://ccvt.org/
• Rainbow Railroad – agency that helps LGBTQ+ communities globally to escape life threatening situations: https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health New Beginnings Clinic – https://www.camh.ca/en/your-care/programs-and-services/new-beginnings-clinic-for-newcomers
Carter Hammett is a Toronto-based social worker, writer and trainer. He can be reached at iwriteandedit@yahoo.com
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