What is Vicarious Trauma?
When the world seems scary and you witness the pain and hardship of others, it can deeply affect your mental health. Vicarious trauma is the cumulative emotional, physical, and psychological effects of being exposed to the pain, fear, and suffering of others.
Even if the traumatic events aren’t happening directly to us, we can still experience trauma from them. Humans have special mirror neurons in our brains that allow us to feel others’ pain as if it is our own. They allow us to empathize with others, cry at movies, and sometimes–at the extreme–experience vicarious trauma.
It’s important to know the signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma so you can identify it in yourself or others. You might experience long-lingering anger, rage, or sadness about someone else’s victimization. You might experience repetitive thoughts and rumination about events or become so preoccupied that you struggle to function in your work or relationships, or your physical health may suffer. Some people also feel a loss of hope about the world. Note if you are distancing yourself from family and friends, numbing yourself, self-medicating, or keeping yourself busy to distract yourself. If untreated, chronic vicarious trauma can lead to burnout, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Stress, Burnout, and the Window of Tolerance
What is the difference between stress and burnout? Stress is the body’s response to demands, and when there are too many demands or the demands are too great, stress negatively affects your mind, body, behaviors, and relationships. Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout leaves us with a loss of motivation, values, and purpose, making us unable to meet life’s demands. The window of tolerance is defined by Dan Seigel as the optimal zone of your nervous system functioning, where you can learn, be creative, and respond to life’s demands. If you are pushed beyond your window of tolerance, you’ll feel overwhelmed, overloaded, and over-reactive.
Everyone’s window of tolerance is different. Ongoing challenges can “fill up” your window so that additional stressors push you past your limits. Things like trauma, financial hardship, relational instability, lack of support system, unsafe environments (home, school work, neighborhood, etc.), and cultural oppression/discrimination are chronic stressors that can make burnout and vicarious trauma more likely.
5 Strategies to Nurture Your Nervous System and Get In Your Window of Tolerance
We each face different challenges and have unique sets of resources, so different strategies will be helpful for each of us. The following list includes diverse tools and resources. As you read, think about which might be most helpful for you as you work to calm your nervous system and expand your window of tolerance:
- Mental strategies include positive self-talk, mantras, a healthy attitude and outlook, going to therapy, and learning to understanding emotions.
- Spiritual/Ritual strategies utilize philosophy, support from religious/spiritual communities, meditation or chanting, and orienting toward your values.
- Physical/Sensory strategies include baths, massage, acupuncture, exercise, time in nature, healthy consensual physical touch, and creative expressions like art, dance, or music.
- Social strategies utilize, friends and family, volunteering, concerts, therapy, and a good therapist.
- Verbal/language strategies focus on self-expression through talking, singing, writing, and therapy.
If you are struggling with vicarious trauma, please reach out to a therapist. If you are in crisis, you can also contact the nation crisis text line at 741741.
Take good care of yourself. With the necessary tools and support systems, you can heal and grow.
Learn more about trauma therapy here
Article By Evolve In Nature Psychotherapy
Check out Mental Health: 8 Myths About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
