COVID-19: Our Brains, Our Bodies, Our Trauma
Part 1: This is Your Brain on Stress
Between apocalyptic dreams, random tearful outbursts, and a rather mortifying search history, I am a bit of a mess.
And I’m not alone.
We are not our best selves at this moment. The global pandemic we are living in and through, the mass uncertainty it is bringing, the grief we are sloppily navigating, the strong faces we are putting on for others, it is taking a toll. Many tolls. We are bearing witness to suffering all day, every day, whether or not we are actively seeking out this information. We are trying to keep working, or studying, or care giving, in a world we no longer recognize. You might be finding, increasingly, each and every day you are doing little more than surviving.
This is trauma. It is scary, it is unpredictable, and it has overwhelmed our natural abilities to cope. We feel powerless; we have no control and we so very desperately want some control.
The responses you’re having, the impacts you’re feeling? They are valid, they are normal and they are not your fault. Collectively, we all get to blame our biology (part 1 of this series), and then we will look to it for solutions (parts 2–4).
