Coping with Trauma: Insights for Navigating Difficult Times
The LA fires may feel far away for some, but their emotional impact can hit closer to home than you’d expect.
The devastating news about the ongoing LA fires has understandably left many feeling anxious and uncertain. To help provide perspective and guidance during this challenging time, I asked our Core Expert, psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader, to answer a few key questions.
What kind of psychological impact does the media footage of the LA fires have on people even if not personally affected?
While the psychological impact of watching media footage of catastrophic events will differ widely among people, there are a few common responses that most viewers experience. For one, a high degree of helplessness. Watching news about terrible events happening to others without having any way to help can cause a sense of hopelessness and create feelings of depression and anxiety. People with a background of similar traumatic events may have even more intense reactions.
What is the best way to comfort a friend who has lost their home in the fire?
Avoid trying to solve their problem. The main help you can provide is simply to be present with them, listen to them, and validate their feelings. Stay away from giving solutions and instead say things that normalize their experience, such as, “This must be so surreal for you. It’s so painful to lose what you have lost and have the future feel so uncertain.”
What are the signs that the exposure to the trauma of it all is affecting our mental health?
If you find yourself obsessively monitoring the news, having flashbacks, or feeling like you can’t stop thinking about the situation, it is a sign to contact a mental health professional. Any stress that prevents you from participating in your daily activities, like your job or family life, is also a sign that you may need to seek professional help.
These fires are really exacerbating a baseline fear many already have (of a massive disaster striking their home and family). What is your advice to people who feel much more anxious as a result?
Two mistakes that all humans make are, first, jumping to conclusions, and second, blowing things out of proportion. This is natural, especially when we see current news. Our way out is to examine the evidence and put things into perspective. When we are anxious, it’s because we have “unchecked worry.” We need to ask ourselves, “What is the actual likelihood that this will happen?” If we determine that what we are worried about is likely—which it rarely is—then we can ask, “What would we actually do about it?” Once we think this through and come up with a plan, we realize the truth of Mark Twain’s quote: “Worrying is paying interest on a debt you might not even owe.”
OUR CORE EXPERT
Dr Jonathan Fader
Jonathan Fader, PhD is a clinical and high performance psychologist. He is best known for working with professional athletes in the MLB, NFL and teams including The New York Mets and The New York Giants. He is the Co-Founder of Union Square Practice, a Mental Health Practice with 60+ clinicians in NY, FL and CA. He works with individuals, teams and organizations to improve mental health and performance. His energetic and empathic approach to therapy and coaching is informed by cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, positive psychology as well as sport and performance psychology. Dr. Fader regularly works with athletes, performers, physicians, entrepreneurs, businesses, schools, and with first responder groups such as The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Mental Performance Initiative as a part of the Leadership Under Fire Advisory Team.
