You may have experienced trauma at some point in your life. This can be when you survive a tragic event like a car accident, natural disaster, abuse, or any other violent catastrophe. But, can trauma occur if something terrible has happened to someone else? This is called vicarious trauma.
Vicarious trauma is when you experience trauma symptoms after seeing or hearing about someone else’s trauma. Maybe you experienced trauma after hearing about a horrible tragedy on the news, or a friend told you about their traumatic experience. The details of these accounts may feel so real that you cannot help but visualize the event in your head. No matter what trauma you are going through, know that it will always be treatable.
Here are ways you can deal with vicarious trauma.
Symptoms
Vicarious trauma symptoms can appear in many ways. Once you see or hear stories of people going through tragedies can bring you a different perspective of a world you once thought was safe. You feel various emotions, from anxiety to guilt, hopelessness, or numbness. Trauma expresses itself in numerous ways, differing from person to person. Learning about other people’s trauma can distract you and make it hard to focus. Before you know it, you feel irritated without knowing why.
Evaluate Your Thinking
Anxiety from vicarious trauma often stems from catastrophizing. Driving to work or boarding a plane makes you anxious because someone else experienced a crash. When you envision the trauma you heard about, your mind imagines that the worst could happen in relatively innocuous situations.
Evaluating your thoughts can help you gain perspective on second-hand trauma. Do you find yourself catastrophizing and imagining worst-case scenarios? Have you noticed increased cynicism or negativity? Noticing patterns or behaviors can bring a gentle awareness to how you view the world. As you take note, try to imagine yourself outside the trauma looking in. With increased perspective, you’ll begin to process the underlying emotions that have taken a stronghold on your thoughts.
Educate Yourself
Understanding vicarious trauma can help you identify the symptoms you are experiencing. Keeping a list of triggers and thought patterns you’ve adopted is always helpful. If you see a therapist, this information can help them personalize a plan for you to work through the trauma you experience.
Additional kinds of therapy can also be beneficial. EMDR, Art Therapy, and Animal Assisted Therapy can help you approach your trauma in new and healthy ways. Take time to research different therapy methods to see what resonates most with you.
Mindfulness
Whenever you start to experience troubling symptoms, incorporate mindfulness exercises. These practices will help calm you down and focus on your breathing and senses.
The important thing is to choose an exercise that will relax you away from your intrusive thoughts. You can start by inhaling through your mouth for four seconds, hold for seven, and then exhale for eight seconds. You can also practice yoga, draw in a coloring book, go on a walk, and more.
Less Exposure
Your mental health is always going to be a priority. Creating healthy boundaries can help you process your emotions so you can be emotionally available to help in the future. If your friends or relatives tell you traumatic stories, you can politely tell them that you are not in the right place to listen.
If you work in an environment where you are exposed to people experiencing trauma, it is difficult to limit your exposure. This is where therapy can be instrumental in helping you work through the trauma you are experiencing. We are always here to help you if you are still struggling with vicarious trauma. Please contact us for a free consultation.
Read more about PTSD treatment. Serving Boulder, Longmont, Denver.
