Resilience and Traumatic Events: Strategies to Help Prevent PTSD to Minimize Long Term Effects
We cannot prevent the pain and suffering that is experienced in life. We do know how PTSD develops and strategies to minimize the development of PTSD and develop further resilience. A traumatic event is a time-limited exposure to an experience that is frightening or confusing, and often both. The brain develops PTSD when it cannot process (understand and make sense of) the event and/or the person experiences repeated exposures. With the tragic and senseless events at the Chief’s Rally, there are positive steps that we can take to minimize the long-term suffering and effects on our nervous system, ultimately helping prevent the development of PTSD.
Connection and support. Maintaining connection with important people in your life provides connection, comfort, and stimulated dopamine. The support of increased dopamine will help prevent depression.
Talking about your experience. Research demonstrates multiple benefits of talking about your experience. Having a safe place to express your experience provides a sense of control over self, connection, being understood and having a voice.
Choosing to take a positive perspective in thought and action. Identifying yourself as a survivor, and not a victim is powerful. The underlying message of being a survivor is powerful despite of something experienced, whereas victim infers powerlessness. Finding positive meaning in the trauma. Sometimes this is extremely difficult to do. However, it can be seen all around us. The outpouring of care and concern, people and groups offering support, running into danger to provide assistance and protection to others evidences the goodness in people. The Chiefs’ team has worked hard to demonstrate good sportsmanship all year, despite increased negativity from outside sources. This shows the continuing building of their positive growth both reflected in character and their on the field performance as a team. We are witnessing that as a community, as well, and desire that as a nation. While the action of a few was built on hate, the love and care within the community, and the ripple effects throughout the country, demonstrates our resilience and goodness.
Helping others in their healing process. The helping and loving nature of individuals has been instantaneous. The outpouring of love and assistance can even be somewhat chaotic, because it is so authentic and automatic. As the days go by, those efforts will become more organized and calm, which will also be helpful to the community as a whole.
Knowing that you can do this. Choosing to believe that we are resilient…that we can and will get through this, manage our emotions with self-control, and heal. Choosing to hope and holding the belief that we heal.
Noticing the pain and suffering. Providing an opportunity to notice the experience…our pain, suffering, anger, disappointment, and suffering. Name the emotions to take power over them. Then express it by talking about it, drawing it, exercising through it, writing music about it, journaling…but express it to release it from our bodies. Embrace your anger as energy to push the emotion out of your body.
Choose love. Caring for, empathy, celebrating another, offering support and help for another is choosing love. These are all types or or characteristics of love, which is much more than an emotion, but a state of being and action. Our brains will not allow us to hate and love at the same time. It would be extremely difficult to experience fear and love at the same time. We cannot be defensive and empathetic at the same time, either. Our brains will fluctuate back and forth, but at the same time….the brain just doesn’t work that way. If we choose to love, and choose to learn from the past to make our communities better, we can…join together…heal and grow in love.
Choosing to remember February 14, 2024 as a day of love….loving our Chiefs, loving their growing positive character as role models, loving celebration over fear, our community coming together to heal and love the entire community.
Judy Gardner
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December 14, 2023
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Trauma, PTSD, Resilience•
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Meredith Gardner, MS, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Certified Therapist
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Madeline Cramer, MA, LPC, LCPC, NCC, EMDRIA Certified Therapist
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Judy Gardner, MS, BSN, RN, LPC, LCPC, NCC, EMDRIA Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant, Mediator
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