When you lose your critical lifeline at age five you cannot escape some brand of heartache. It impacts everything you do, your relationships, your health, and your ability to function in the world. As would be true for most children, my lifeline was my mom and any type of normal life trajectory halted when I lost her on a cold February day in Madison, South Dakota. My heartache has lasted for years.
Many of us may be feeling overwhelmed or helpless, especially during the COVID-19 global pandemic and as racial and political tensions heighten in the U.S. In times like these, retreating inward to examine ourselves should become more than a priority and instead be a necessity. When we assess our own trauma, we typically consider the ways it affects us personally, such as depression, fatigue, negative cognition, strained relationships, avoidance or numbness — to name a few. And while it is wildly important to unpack our own trauma, to work through and bring meaning to that of which we've suffered, we do need to consider how trauma, even unprocessed, impacts our communities as a whole.
We are in the throes of a global pandemic, which no one has any prior experience in. Yet, advice on how to deal with this crisis is everywhere: "Be productive, write that book, start that business, reinvent your business, do what you previously didn't have time for, work out, take on a hobby, use this time wisely, change the world," they all say.