No matter where you are, big city or small town, there’s clearly a growing risk of mass violence. Places that were once considered sanctuaries, such as churches and schools, have become targets with easy access to captive, and vulnerable, populations. These places make it easy for a lone person to create chaos and cause mass carnage in a matter of moments.
When these attacks were less frequent, news of one happening was galvanizing. We felt the pain of the victims and those who mourned their deaths.
These massacres would stop us in our tracks, we’d feel gut punched and wonder how it could happen here, in our country.
Unfortunately, as the number of these violent attacks multiplies, many of us will reach a point where we are no longer “shocked” by these tragic events.
We may become desensitized, which is a totally normal and necessary reaction to traumatic incidents. It’s how we’re able to keep going.
Sadly, we may experience learned helplessness when shooting after shooting happens. We begin to feel powerless -- as if there is absolutely nothing that can be done to end or even minimize the mass violence in our country.
Research shows that talking about traumatic events with people we feel safe with allows us to make meaning of what happened and what it means for us. We need to integrate the traumatic experience into our story rather than allowing the trauma to become our story.
Life can be hard sometimes, but May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the perfect time to reach out for support if you need help coping with the challenging circumstances or troubling events you face in life.
I’m Suzanne Degges-White and that’s my perspective.
