Some of my friends tell me they’ve stopped watching the news. It seems
every day we are bombarded by sad news of another killing, another shooting, another crime against humanity. The violence seems to create an overwhelming sense of fear and sadness, and it’s hard to move past the feelings.
One of the questions that we probably all struggle with, is how do we experience the trauma, respect what happened, and still move forward in our lives? How do we stay positive, motivated, and forward-moving when we’ve lost so much, felt so much, and experienced so much?
There may not be a lot of answers for this right now, although many have tried to answer. We walk around in a world where people are constantly trying to reform, fix, advocate, intervene, protest, and change what we’re experiencing. And that’s good. With all of that in motion though, we have to pay attention to how we are doing personally.
There are a few practices and techniques that therapists use to encourage people who have experienced trauma to use in order to KEEP MOVING. I put it this way, because it feels as though we are still right in the midst of it. We are still experiencing the trauma and there may be days that grief overwhelms. And sometimes that will be appropriate. Still, we have to KEEP MOVING. We learn that sadness, pain, and violence are part of what we are experiencing right now, and that there are still reasons to KEEP MOVING.
Some of the techniques we teach people to use include:
- mindfulness
- exercise
- meditation
- healthy eating
- yoga
- prayer
Sometimes the mind needs to clear. Sometimes the body needs to move. Sometimes we need nourishment. Sometimes we just need spiritual peace.
I encourage you to pursue finding times during which you can slow down the trauma. Clear yourself. Be present and in the moment. These things don’t make the trauma go away. They’re not a magic pill. But in a world where we aren’t sure when the violence will slow down, when the trauma will cease, it’s good to take time to rest yourself and nourish yourself so you can KEEP MOVING.
My final thoughts turn to gratitude, hope, and love. We as a people, this world, has experienced so much hatred and fear. While we are working to change things, we can also work to spread the opposite of fear. We can work to spread hope and love. We can work to be thankful for the blessings we have. We can work to focus on the opposite feelings that the trauma is causing. Again, this is not a magic pill. But, it is an opportunity to spread goodness. KEEP MOVING.
