Trauma-Informed Resources to Support You Through Chaotic Times
Especially when social media amplifies and perpetuates collective and individual trauma
I Took A Month Off Posting On Social Media, Did You Notice?
I don’t make public announcements when I take breaks from social media— the meme that says, “This isn’t an airport, you don’t need to announce your departure” sums up my feelings on this pretty well.
In 2022, I committed to and stuck with not looking at social media for 30 straight days. It was glorious. It made a marked difference on my mental and emotional health. But I also spent the month prior to my unplug setting things up and organizing my work and social media posts so I could step away from my screens for four consecutive weeks.
This year, I decided on a whim—around September 26—to take the month of October off social media. There was no extravagant preparation. I just pre-scheduled a couple posts on Instagram and signed off social media for the first seven days in October. My screen time went down 35% that week.
Then the attack in Israel happened. I went back to scrolling so I could “stay informed.” But I didn’t post anything because there didn’t seem to be anything worth reposting or sharing. The noise and echo chambers within social media cause me to run away from, not toward, the online chaos. It’s my innate protective mechanism at work, I guess.
My intention for my phone use and social media consumption (albeit with a very imperfect follow-through right now) is:
Daily — phone is completely turned off or on airplane mode from 8 pm – 8 am.
Weekly — no social media scrolling Friday - Sunday.
Monthly — no social media scrolling the first week of each month.
Yearly — One 30-day unplug. No social media or email use. I only check and respond to email on my computer once a week during the unplug.
Collective Trauma Experiences
It’s obvious to me, and maybe to you as well, that we are all witnessing and experiencing a lot of vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and chronic post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) within ourselves and others these days. Social media isn’t the sole cause of our trauma, but it certainly amplifies and perpetuates collective and individual traumas.
Vicarious Trauma — The emotional residue of exposure to traumatic stories and experiences of others.
Secondary Trauma — The emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another.
Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) — Caused by ongoing trauma which lasts for months or years, while PTSD may be caused by a single traumatic event.
I First Heard About The Israel/Palestinian Situation At An In-Person Event Rather Than Through Social Media.
I was in the live audience in Bluffton, SC, when keynote speaker Tara Leigh Cobble, the creator of the Bible Recap podcast (which just celebrated 300 million downloads) said, “her eyes and heart were on Israel that morning.” That was the morning of October 7. Tara Leigh has traveled to Israel 20 times during her 47 years. Hearing about breaking world news in a room with other human beings, instead of through a screen, is atypical yet something I welcome more of in this day and age.
The next week before church, my minister gave an amazing talk to a standing-room-only crowd on Making Sense of The Middle East. This is the same minister who led the Israel pilgrimage I went on this past summer. I’ve shared this link to his talk with many of my friends and family this past week. One friend said, “It’s the most informative and well balanced presentations on the Israel/Palestine history I have ever heard.” I agree. It’s definitely worth listening to!
I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to travel to the Middle East last summer. It’s an important part of the world. It was a life-changing experience for me to visit and see Israel with my own eyes. I pray for God’s providence and His healing hand on both Israel and Palestine in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
“Essentialism is about pausing constantly to ask, “Am I investing in the right activities?” Greg McKeon
Using a nervous system regulation practice(s) every day is a priority for me. With the election year around the corner and the ongoing chaos in the world, I want to strengthen my own zone of resilience.
While I’m normally a proponent for focusing on action over theory, I’m also feeling particularly drawn to review, revisit, and study the trauma research right now as well.
My Favorite Trauma Books and Trainings for Understanding How Vicarious, Secondary, and Complex Trauma Impacts Us All
The Science of Stuck — When I began my social media unplug this month, before the Israel attack happened, I was drawn to this book by Britt Frank. I pretty much highlighted every sentence in chapter 3, “The Myth of Motivation,” which is all about trauma. It’s one of the best trauma explanations I’ve ever read. Britt also had me hooked in her introduction with paragraphs like this.
How To Release Stress & Trauma by Unlocking Your Body’s Wisdom This 6-week course is the best training I’ve found for somatic healing and nervous system regulation. I’m rewatching this training, which I signed up for this past spring. I’m slowly digesting the wealth of information in this course while using the practices that Luis Mojica teaches and embodies through his calm, grounded presence.
The podcast below is an episode with Jacob Ham — a psychiatrist who specializes in trauma therapy — is well worth the listen. I discovered Dr. Ham in Stephanie Foo’s book, What My Bones Know. Dr. Ham helped Stephanie, a former producer on NPR’s This American Life, heal from CPTSD. I’ve been binge listening any interview I can find with him. This interview on the Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris podcast is particularly good.
The Bible — If this book triggers your nervous system, just skip ahead to #5. But for what it’s worth, I do feel better after reading the Bible. I’m particularly fond of John and Acts these days. I can’t eloquently explain the neurophysiology or supernatural that happens when reading the Bible, but I do feel a calm and comfort in my nervous system after reading or listening to chapters in the Bible (I read from the New Living Translation version). For the book of John, I also like to listen (sometimes I play this while I sleep at night) or watch (I like this visual depiction) as well.
It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle — This 2017 book is the go-to book for trauma and epigenetics. If you haven’t read it or don’t know about it, check it out.
Below are five more trauma-informed resources for paid subscribers. Please consider upgrading your subscription if you haven’t already. Paid subscribers will also receive a guided audio in this post of my clients’ favorite regulating technique. It can be used anywhere, anytime to calm your over-activated nervous system.
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