My early television viewing preferences probably led me to a career as a researcher. Psychological traumaI spent my youth watching M*A*S*H, the American war comedy-drama that followed the team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Army Mobile Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War. In my twenties, I became a fan of ER, the emergency room drama set in Chicago.
In these TV series, reflecting the time period, “trauma” only referred to catastrophic physical injury. The word has since become a general term to describe not only physical injury but also the psychology of extreme events. However, the word retains its medical connotation and is not helpful.
My Research It radically rethinks psychological trauma. Rather than trying to identify “what’s wrong” with people adversely affected by psychological trauma, it focuses on the shared characteristics that put some people at risk for trauma and others not. These shared attributes, known as social identities, are also crucial to recovery from trauma.
Major life-changing events are common, and the most common response to traumatic events is psychological resilience. People bounce back. 90% of people People who experience directly traumatic events such as war, sexual assault, car accidents, natural disasters, etc., do not suffer any long-term psychological effects. In most cases, people cope with these events and move on.
However, while most people show resilience, traumatic experiences can change them and create new identities – for example, war and bereavement can create refugees, orphans and widows – but trauma can also make existing identities very important.
UK Acting Postmaster General’s Case Continues Wrongly Convicted Financial mismanagement is a good example. Their response, led by the Justice League for Subpostmasters, is based on both their professional identity as subpostmasters and the sense of social connection they derive from being a subpostmaster. The injustices they endured.
Risk and resilience
A growing body of research highlights that there is much more to reactions to trauma than the negative personal effects of trauma expressed in the health and medical fields. Some post-traumatic reactions are more positive than negative, and some are more social and political. mentally.
Psychological trauma is a complex phenomenon that is personal, social and political. Life circumstances are important to both the risk of and recovery from traumatic experiences. The kids and adult.
I Team Research Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, researchers found that Nepalese people’s social status (linked to the historical caste system) determined the level of psychological trauma and the sense of belonging to their community they felt after the earthquake. Combined, these attributes explain who exhibits symptoms of mental illness in Nepal. Post-traumatic stress.
The clinical model of psychological trauma aims to treat patients individually with medication and therapy. This allows: Community or social group It will be overlooked.
The pandemic has taught us that in difficult times, our ability to come together is crucial for our physical and mental health. Similarly, individual resilience is often Social cohesion In times of threat.
Even after the most difficult and life-threatening experiences, many “Post-traumatic growth”This is often described as a renewed appreciation and interest in life. Our research shows that identity and group-based ties are crucial to these more positive outcomes.
People also Collective Post-Traumatic GrowthIn cases like these, victims build a shared understanding of how their traumatic experiences are linked to their identity. This not only creates connections between those affected, as in the case of the UK subpostmaster, but also encourages pushback against the powerful systems that may have created the problem in the first place and continue to make a bad situation worse.
Resilience is political
The most vulnerable people in any society – the poor, ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, young children and the elderly – are disproportionately affected by psychological trauma. These groups may struggle to find a voice, so by coming together to speak out, they can effectively pursue justice and positive social change. This is often expressed by victims as: “The best medicine”.
Traumatic experiences do not lead to passivity or victimhood; Collective self-consciousness and collective subjectivity The sense of solidarity among people affected by trauma is a pre-existing Social connections It inspires collective action with political consequences.
This process is #me too and #BlackLivesMatter campaign. This kind of identity-based solidarity is also at the heart of those currently trying to hold those in power to account over the British Post scandal.
But why then is the use of a medical lens on psychological trauma so persistent? Certainly there are significant health consequences in terms of psychological trauma. Global outage costs Although small A significant minority The number of people affected by trauma, which is part of why we continue to use a medical perspective.
As a viewer of both ER and M*A*S*H, I related to healthcare workers, respected them, and followed their stories every week. The focus on the victims was rarely, if ever, on the shows. Appearing to help is a winning response, but it distracts us from preventing and protecting people who are vulnerable to trauma, which is what we should be focusing on.
