Trauma or Burnout? Coming Through a Pandemic Together
"I just can't seem to think clearly," "I feel tired all the time," and "I just don't have the capacity I used to have."
As we enter 2022, a lot of people are describing themselves as "burned out". Tired, drained and hoping for a better tomorrow, we are collectively searching for language to capture the way our bodies are responding to the steady drum of turbulence.
For me though, "burn out" feels like the wrong diagnosis. It just doesn't sit right. Instead, I'm sitting in the land of "trauma" and I want to suggest that for almost all of us, this is a much more helpful term.
Trauma and burn out share a whole range of symptoms, but the root causes and the way we treat them are starkly different.
Burn out (simplified) occurs when we work ourselves to the ground. Trauma (also simplified) occurs when there is an experience over which you have little control, and which triggers your body's stress response. This may be one massive event, or it may be an accumulation of many, smaller events.
In the current case of humanity, there have been ten thousand small moments which have globally activated our stress response; every time case numbers rise; every time you hear you are a close contact; every time a friend becomes unwell; every time tensions rise in your household; every time you've had to cancel that catch up your soul so desperately needs; climate anxiety; political anxiety; food security anxiety; the list could go on and on.
All of these experiences lodge themselves in our bodies' schema of reality and there they take up residence. The result is a trigger happy stress response - trauma - that overrides our capacity to function in healthy ways. As they add up, our higher level thinking becomes preoccupied, our relational capacity confused, our muscles tense, and our natural rhythms derailed.
For those who aren't sleeping well, whose brains aren't functioning like they used to, and whose patience seems to be waning, can I suggest framing these symptoms as physiological responses to stressful circumstances.
For survivors of all forms of chronic trauma, (spiritual trauma, vicarious trauma, minority stress, etc), none of this is new. This has been our reality for decades. So if this is new to you, welcome to the club! Trauma is a piece of sh*t. But it's also not the only thing that defines us.
When navigated well, trauma builds resilience, and like a reinforced concrete slab, resilience is what makes us stronger. So then, how do we navigate trauma? Research suggest a few keys:
1) Connection - now, more than ever, connecting deeply with people is extraordinarily vital. A mix of fun laughter (release that dopamine, people!) and deep check-in type conversations is what is needed.
2) Information - up-skill yourself with information about how trauma impacts your mind and body. Anything by Bessel Van der Kolk or Bruce Perry is going to be a great place to start.
3) Presence - I know it feels mundane or perhaps even foolish, but research consistently shows that mindfulness is a powerful tool for overcoming the trauma that has lodged itself within us. If you, like me, suck at mindfulness, flick me a message and I'll send you some info on how to make it simple and achievable.
At the end of the day, I'm passionate about framing trauma correctly (it's my job, and my area of research) because naming it is the first step to undoing it. As we kick into the new year, I think we're all eager to see a bit of healing happen.
