The recent escalation of destruction, loss of life, and terror due to recent events in the world (the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, and so many other countries) fill us with sadness, fear, anxiety, and feelings of helplessness. Additionally, at home, the devastation in the United States due to natural disasters adds to our trauma. Many of our VUMC colleagues and our VUMC patients have family and friends in impacted areas of the world. All of us with loved ones or familial ties to an affected region feel powerless to do anything but hope and pray. We try to make sense of that which is senseless and irrational and outside of our control. There is immense pain, heartache, and suffering, yet there is also resilience.
How do we cope with such chaos, devastation, and destruction? There's a feeling of being totally overwhelmed, hopeless, and helpless. Emotionally, the psychological impact is to feel trauma, fear, and terror. It is hard to get a handle on how to re-gain a sense of control and predictability. We want to find a solution to this complex cultural problem.
Traumatic events, including the aftermath, invoke the most basic threat – that of survival, notes author and psychologist Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, Ph.D. in her book "Shattered Assumptions." There are occasions when we are forced to recognize the risk and real possibility of the randomness of events and the fragility of our own mortality. Trauma can produce symptoms in individuals including anxiety, fears, depression, nightmares, nausea, memory loss, identification with the victims, flashbacks, fear of repetition, fatigue, and problem-solving difficulties. While these can be a normal response to such an abnormal situation, it remains profoundly distressing.
We often are triggered by the similarity of these events to the commonalities in our own lives. To cope with this requires incredible courage and resilience. If you or a colleague are having difficulty coping, here are some things you can do:
- Listen to others and validate the feelings that you have.
- Focus on the things you have control over.
- Reflect on the fact that at the moment, you are safe.
- Prioritize your own self-care.
- Seek support from friends, colleagues, or a professional if your distress begins interfering with your function, your work, or your relationships.
Please be kind to each other. None of us at VUMC are personally responsible for these events nor do we have the power to stop them. Be sensitive to those around you. This may be a very difficult time for you. For some additional psychological support, VUMC faculty and staff can call Work/Life Connections-EAP at 615-936-1327 and make a confidential appointment to meet with one of our clinical counselors for support.
