How Collective Trauma Impacts Behavior, Mental Health, and Physical Health

Collective trauma refers to a traumatic event that is shared by a group of people. It may involve a small group, like a family or it may involve an entire society.

Traumatic events that effect groups may include things like a plane crash, natural disaster, mass shootings, famines, war, or pandemic.

Well-known collective traumas include American slavery, the Holocaust, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and the September 11 attacks.

People don’t necessarily need to have experienced the event first-hand in order to be changed by it. Watching the events unfold on the news can be traumatic, for example…

 

29 simple tricks experts use to stay resilient during the toughest times

How are you? Seriously, check in with yourself. What was the answer? “Fine”? “Not great, but I don’t want to complain because people have it worse”? “Ready to blast off to space”? It’s no secret that 2020 has felt like an active volcano, in which spewing news cycles are followed by simmering states of despair.

Now for the good: There’s a ton of actions you can take to Keep. Moving. Forward. So fantasise for a minute here. If you want to learn to play tennis, you’d (in an alternate universe) call Serena Williams. Business advice? You might go to Sheryl Sandberg. But for a heavy mental health and attitude overhaul, you’ve got to go to the top stars of the mind. These powerhouses—we’re talking psychologists, mindfulness gurus, and more—own the type of resilience, hopefulness, and grit we need.

You can reignite your happiness and see this world for the beautiful place it can be. So the next time you’re asked, “How are you?” the fitting response will be, “Amazing.”…