Collective Trauma

“Collective trauma refers to the shared emotional and social harm that is experienced by entire communities in circumstances, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, racism, and occurrences like the Covid-19 pandemic.“¹ I don’t know what your experiences have been in the last two years but our family’s trauma through lock down was heightened by the termination of our secure jobs and the inability to continue study, work or even connect with certain relatives in the ‘new order.’ Is it any wonder that I have found it hard to concentrate enough to write my blog lately.

Wounds

Trauma is a Greek word meaning “wound”. A trauma is an incident or an ongoing situation where a person’s sense of security has crumbled. The beliefs that people previously held about their society, says Kendra Cherry, have been shaken or even shattered. There is no doubt that our world has gone through a psychological upheaval. Some of the potential lasting impacts on future generations can include:

• Increased individual and collective fear
• Damaged national pride
• Feelings of humiliation
• Identity crisis
• Increased feelings of vulnerability
• Heightened vigilance for new threats²

For some, in 2020 and 2021, the wounds were caused by fear of contracting covid-19 and getting the disease. Both the messages and measures were crippling. Masking, distancing, isolation and lockdowns took their toll, even more so those whose businesses were not considered ‘essential.’ Furthermore, those who couldn’t visit loved ones in hospital or in nursing homes at crucial moments in their lives experienced deep grief. Those who lost their nearest and dearest to the mismanagement of medical authorities, both from careless treatment and from vaccine induced fatalities have had their share of pain. Cancelled weddings, newborns facing a world of masked faces, adjustments to remote learning, as families were denied the right to education and free movement have and will have an impact. Besides loss of income the rise in family violence and suicide rates are immediate consequences of loss of hope. We await to see the long term effects.

Yes, our sense of security has indeed been shattered. Who can we trust? In my next post, I will discuss what people do when they have free-floating anxiety and try to regain a sense of safety in their world.

When the vaccine mandates were executed, another level of trauma was introduced. A certain percentage of the population felt coerced to take the experimental injections to keep their jobs or be a full participant in society. Others refused for medical or ethical reasons and were terminated and disparaged. Some who were pro-vaccine and pro-mandate were distressed that anyone would be so “selfish “as to refuse. Some who took the vaccine in good conscience actually died or were left with debilitating injuries or psychological damage when their injuries were discredited. Many have been left confused and distraught.

Discrimination

Discrimination and medical apartheid have become common terms to describe the world-wide situation. Inability for all to enter libraries, community centres, restaurants and sports venues, to name a few, has added to the societal wound. I know Christian families that excluded their “unvaccinated” family members from Christmas and Easter functions because of their stance. Some churches prohibited their members from volunteering, causing wounds, which I discuss in more detail in a later post. Jesus died that such barriers might crumble, not be erected. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28). The inclusivity of the gospel is not compatible with the division caused by churches following mandates.

Delivered after the last lock down of 2021
but excluding the unvaccinated

Trauma Duration

It can take years for a community to process a collective trauma, longer for individuals if it is not processed. Janelle Ringer writes, in “Understanding the Long-term Collective Trauma from Covid-19“, “While everyone may experience varying psychological effects, the greatest burdens tend to fall on the most vulnerable. Lack of access to resources and adequate supports serves to exacerbate this trauma…. Even when each group is fighting the same fears and anxieties in some way, Psychiatrist Melissa Pereau says the trauma can impact each group differently. “We’re fighting the same battle, but we may not all have equal weapons to fight back,” she says. “Trauma can be compounded when there is a build-up of multiple traumas.”

The chart below is not intended to be prescriptive but a prompt to stimulate our thinking on the issue of the progress of the trauma response.

Responding to Trauma

The following notes come from Andrew and Lynda Boutros’ lecture on “Emotional Health in Ministry”³. The Boutroses explain that when we experience trauma, our amygdala (the feeling centre in our brains) involuntarily hijacks the neo cortex (the thinking centre) and, in order to feel safe, we may respond with one or more of the following:

• Fight – attacking behaviour
• Flight – avoidance behaviour
• Freeze – paralysed when fighting or fleeing isn’t an option
• Fawn – people pleasing to stay safe
• Fix – anxious over-functioning, rushing for solutions

Signs of Trauma

Some signs that we have been impacted by trauma:

• Emotional – irritability, hyper-arousal, grief, anxiety, mood changes, feeling unsafe, numbness, fears
• Behavioural – sleep disturbances, isolating ourselves, substance abuse, nightmares
• Physical – headaches, ulcers, rashes, heart palpitations, aches and pains
• Cognitive – cynicism, negativity, inability to concentrate, confusion
• Spiritual – loss of hope and/or purpose, disconnection

Those who help the traumatised can experience vicarious trauma and will see similar signs.

Strategies to Minimise the Trauma Response

We can use our senses as a brake to minimise the impact. Here are some useful strategies:

1. Notice and name what is happening
2. Control our Breathing
3. Ground ourselves. Here is one helpful technique: Identify 5 things I can see, 4 things I can hear, 3 things I can feel, 2 things I can smell and 1 thing I can taste.

Recovery

Trauma is stored in our bodies until it is processed. These following steps help a person recover and we can all learn to do these and find people who will do this for us.

1. Believe the person’s story
2. Validate their experience
3. Empathise and reflect back to them their feelings
4. Have support and referral options available.

Other helpful strategies include taking care of our body and health, limiting media exposure and finding a caring community who will show understanding and allow us to grieve loss and process the trauma.

The Mandate Division

It concerns me that because of the divide caused by the narrative (constantly being told certain people are unsafe), many who feel strongly in either direction, whether to be injected or not, can find it hard to find someone in the other camp to believe and validate their experience. Because the unvaccinated are in the minority it is especially difficult for them. This is exacerbated because it is happening on numerous levels at once – governmental, workplace, social groupings and especially in the family. Thus the trauma is heightened, not healed.

I believe there are few people who have not been impacted by the “Covid 19 vaccine” mandates. Many who stayed in the workforce have experienced depleted numbers and heavier workloads and those who refused the jab suffer the loss of so much more. The level of community grief needs to be reckoned with and healed.

Comfort in God’s Word

I felt alone in my experience, so when I read that Paul was alone in Rome at his first defence, his words were a comfort and a strength for me: “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear….” 2 Tim 4:17. Though Paul’s context is different to mine, I know that God stands with us in our loneliness even when we are in the minority. God stood with Daniel as he stuck to his decision to pray and go against the king’s decree. I wonder if Paul had Daniel in mind when he said, “… Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” 2 Tim 4:17.

God’s Word speaks to trauma. We need go no further than the cross to know that Jesus understands our pain. Misunderstanding, rejection, isolation, physical and psychological pain – he experienced it all and died that we might know his love and comfort through anything we might experience. God believes us and validates our experiences. We will find help as we look to “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2

Present Help

We must not wait for the trauma to pass before we get help. We need help now. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Ps 46:1. I don’t believe that the trauma is over. We need a way to cope and thrive with continuing and new threats such as the war in Eastern Europe, the push for digital ID, unknown vaccine contents, the possibility of more bioweapons being unleashed on us, the immoral laws which are being passed under our noses that erode our freedoms and more. God longs to meet us now, individually, and through a community that believes in our story and is prepared to boldly face the future with us. I thank God for those who He has put on my path, who have believed me, validated me and prayed for me.

May God meet you in your time of need.

^1. Rachel Larsen writing for “Choosing Therapy“, quotes Liana Tuller, PhD, Research Fellow at the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University.

^2. Canetti D, Hirschberger G, Rapaport C, et al. Holocaust from the real world to the lab: The effects of historical trauma on contemporary political cognitions. Polit Psychol. 2018;39:3–21. doi:10.1111/pops.12384

^3. Andrew and Lynda Boutros of True Success: Lecture on “Emotional Health in Ministry”, 23.3.22, Encompass Church, Bundoora, Vic.

Covid Grief

We can experience culture shock when we travel from one country to another and are living there for an extended time. Customs and language in the new world are different. It takes more thought to get regular tasks done, because they are unfamiliar. When we do things on a regular basis, like tying our shoe laces or going for a walk, we don’t expend much thought – our hands and legs know the moves. However, in a new culture, so much is not automatic and needs to be learned. Until we are acculturated, a lot of energy goes into even simple tasks, like shopping or greeting people.

Covid Culture Shock

In this Covid era, we have had a new culture thrust upon us with the many customs that have been altered. The wearing of masks, keeping distances, rules about where we can go and in what numbers, as well as how to do the simplest things have meant we have to think critically and put in extra effort. Before we leave home, we need to remember the mask, the defogger on our glasses and the documentation that allows us to travel.

We are experiencing the grief of the loss of our known ways as we try and embrace the new. Culture shock carries its own kind of grief. Some missionaries may not last the distance in their host country if they interpret the grief of losing their home culture as symptoms of being ill-equipped for the job. They may have sadness they can’t account for or bouts of anger. These are most often symptoms of the natural process of loss and recovery. Grief involves certain phases (though not always in this order): numbness, denial, anger, sadness and eventually resolution. How long we grieve is influenced by a number of factors, like the support we have, how traumatic the loss is and so on. Understanding the process helps us deal with our grief better.

Remembering Mum

Reflections on the Loss of my Mother

Loss is always difficult. Knowing that we will see a loved one again in heaven does not change the physical, mental and emotional tearing that happens after their death. The loss of such an important person as a mother brings up deep emotions. When I think back on my mother’s death and the days afterward, I am thankful for the many gestures of comfort that came to me. I’d like to share the gifts that God gave me in that time.

In July of 2018, my mother of 89 years became increasingly unwell. The year before, she had broken her pelvis in a fall and had done her courageous utmost to become mobile again, but it had weakened her.

Rev Dr Phyllis Jean Gorfine
1928-2018

Faith & Courage

By August she was in hospital with chronic heart failure. The doctors used that scary word “palliative” and we knew that we needed to let her go. Her own attitute was of calm acceptance. She had faith that she was leaving and going home to be with Jesus and casting off a body that wasn’t allowing her to be as useful as she wished to be. Her faith and courage in facing death were gifts to those around her. Have you lost someone who was coping better than you with the idea of death. Their courage was a gift.

Time

We were told Rosanna was in the ward, doing the rounds. The way the nurse looked at us when she spoke of her, we knew she was no ordinary doctor. This young middle Eastern woman was larger than life, with dark hair coloured red and dressed in jeans and high heels. It took over 2 hours for her to get to us and when we finally met her we knew why it took so long – she took time with her patients. She talked with my mum, sat next to her on the bed and held her hand. She listened to her problems and asked her questions. She smiled and laughed and made us feel as though we were the most important people in the ward. She also did her best to alleviate the difficulties Mum was having. The time she gave was a gift. Has someone listened to you when you have needed to share? That time was a gift.

Something Practical

On the morning that my brother and I were told that Mum had maybe three days left, I couldn’t get to the hospital. My car was being repaired and I had walked down the street to do Mum’s banking. The call from the hospital came and I was filled with anxiety – how was I to get there? I rang one of my church friends, who not only offered to loan me her car, but she came and picked me up from the main street. I burst into tears as soon as I got in the car, for the sheer appreciation I felt. What a practical gift! Can you remember the practical things people did for you when you lost someone special. Those meals, those visits, those flowers were a gift.

Advice

I made it to the hospital in the borrowed car and knew it was now a matter of days. I sensed that God was saying that she wouldn’t last the night, but was it God speaking? Should I stay overnight at hospital? I get tired easily and didn’t like the thought of a broken sleep in hospital. What if Mum lasted a few days and then I had a funeral to prepare? I couldn’t decide what to do. My sister-in-law rang me and gave such clarity that I knew I should stay. Have you received advice that helped you make the right decision in an emotional moment? That advice was a gift.

God’s Nudge

So I stayed and slept some of the night, waking to swab Mum’s mouth and then fell asleep again. Early Tuesday morning, I woke again just before 3:00 am, hearing a deep breath and knew that it was her last. I was so grateful to God for nudging me to stay, so I could be with her and for waking me at that last moment. Can you recall times when you know God has nudged you to be in the right place at the right time? That nudge was a gift.

A Christian Presence

The nurse on duty offered me a cup of tea and I shared what I now knew had been God’s voice telling me Mum wouldn’t last the night. I told her how I felt God had woken me up. This nurse’s response was, “Can I pray for you?” She then prayed a beautiful prayer. My heart was so comforted that God had put a Christian on the ward that night. A Christian presence was a gift. Can you remember a godly person being present in a difficult time? What a gift!

Prayer

Two days following my mother’s death, I heard a curious story. A friend from my church told me she had been woken at 3:00 am on Tuesday morning with an urgency to pray for me as she sensed that my mother had died. It was the very hour and day! What comfort, that God woke her up and impressed upon her the need to pray for me. Now I knew why I felt carried through the difficult days; Christians had been praying. Have you ever been aware of people praying for you? Genuine heartfelt prayer is a gift.

God’s Word

As I stood by Mum’s bedside, after packing up all her things with my brother, looking down on her lifeless body which was surprisingly warm, God spoke to me and told me that she was in His everlasting arms. I knew then that it was okay to leave her. God’s Word was a gift. When we remember a word from the Bible, that is God’s gift.

An Inheritance

Mum left my brother and I an inheritance – a generous one! She modelled a life of godliness and imparted values I will forever cherish. Practically, she left us a physical inheritance which was a great blessing and it has inspired me to think even more carefully of what Bruce and I will leave our children. Maybe you have been left an inheritance: character traits and godly habits or maybe something physical: objects or money that you have inherited. This inheritance is a gift.

Perspective

When Dad died over 20 years ago, my Mum said, “Death changes things.” What I noticed was that Mum changed. Work (which for her was being a minister in the Uniting Church) began to take second place to time with her family, my brother and myself. I think she meant that death changes our priorities. Death reminds us that we have limited time here on earth and that we should use that time with thoughtfulness and care. Has someone’s death caused you to reflect on life and relationships. Death brings perspective, another gift.

Memories

There were difficult days since and still are. There are things I wish we had talked about and things I wished I had done for her. I miss the way I could brag about the children to her and she would soak it all up as if they were the most important people in the world too. But God has comforted me with good memories of times shared. God has significant ways that He has comforted you. It could be some music that brings back a fond memory, or a particular object that was theirs that has been left to you. It could be of things said and done. Memories are a gift.

Giving the Gift

When we are grieving it is a good to remember the gifts we’ve been given: gifts of time, gifts of prayer, gifts of listening, practical gifts, God’s Word, His presence in us can all be a great comfort. The comfort which you have received can then become a comfort for others. The Apostle Paul declared these words when he wrote to the church in Corinth:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Cor 1:3-4

Let us receive those gifts from God and pass them on to others that their sorrow might be eased and the passage of grief shortened, till we can finally do away with all tears and sorrow when we see our great Comforter face to face one day.