In her blog, a humanistic psychologist explained why it is too early to talk about post-traumatic stress disorder in the context of recent events. She also shared tips on how to protect yourself from injury.
The fact that post-traumatic stress disorder occurs only in combatants can be called one of the most important (and dangerous) myths about this syndrome. In fact, it can be provoked by any traumatic event, participants or witnesses of which we happen to be. All the things that caused us a lot of stress at some point.
Can it be said that due to the events of the last few weeks, most people have developed PTSD?
As the psychologist explains, in order for stress to become a trauma, a person must fulfill three conditions:
refused to act or did something that contradicts his understanding of good,
immersed in feelings that are too strong and (or) take too long to subside,
he could not share his experiences with anyone — without fear of being condemned or rejected.
It turns out that it is enough not to comply with these conditions in order to avoid injury. Is there anything else that needs to be done? The psychologist explains.
«Primarily Trauma prevention is active action, sharing experience, self-regulation and not overstepping the boundaries of one’s values. If this is not done, then the stress will become excessive and something will break (this is called psychological trauma), and the broken psyche will begin to work inefficiently and deprive us of the opportunity to adequately live, love and work (this is called post-traumatic disorder).
Second, the Most of us do not have the skill to cope with acute stress, and this is normal.because our life was peaceful. It needs to be purchased. Colleagues have many exercises and explanations, small and large, on exactly what to do with your feelings, desires, actions, and physical body when times are tough. Excellent, clear and effective manuals. You need to understand this information and master the skill.
At this point, where there should be learning a new skill to support yourself in acute stress, there are two questions that I would like to comment on.
The first is a certain indulgence, devaluing recommendations like “make a list of things that are within your control” or “take six slow breaths in and out.”
Here, probably, the personal lack of energy plays a role (and therefore the avoidance of effort), and a certain worn out, overlooked information, and disappointment from the experience of use acquired earlier. However, all these things in good times should not have worked in any noticeable way: the basic skills of self-regulation and managing one’s life remove the excess, and not everything, and if you do this in the normal way, then the sensations do not change much.
In acute stress, there is an excess: anxiety, impotence, anger, despair. This excess must be removed. What in ordinary life was necessary (and helped) for people in special situations and conditions, now almost everyone needs to master. Such a time. And this is just one of those efforts that justify themselves.
The second question is why all this is necessary, why put yourself in order
Why make an effort to feel better when the world is broken, meaning is lost, people are suffering, and the future is bleak and there is no hope? For the one who suffers losses, such thoughts adequately describe reality, for others, empathy and a tendency to empathize can manifest themselves, which I can only respect.
However, any meaning of life has always been an individual category. The collapse of one meaning does not mean the collapse of all meanings in general., since it was not originally a given of life, but a personal creative invention. In the same way that we have the old meanings, our psyche will create new ones — if given the opportunity to do so. To do this, you need to stop the crushing work of acute stress and self-destruction, which flourishes in the absence of effort.
No one knows what will happen next, but if nothing is planted, then the earth will always overgrow with weeds. If bringing darkness, evil and trauma into the future is not in your plans, then you need to breathe, work, make to-do lists and wait for new energy to hatch out of this. Because if, as dear Ekaterina Shulman says, we live, then we will see a new world and it will consist of us. In my opinion, this may well be one of the possible meanings.