A Word from the Pastor – Dealing with Trauma

Whenever someone experiences an event that is traumatic, they are traumatized. We all know that, but we often don’t think it applies to us or others as much as it actually does. We might think that we have “gotten over it,” but our bodies remember the trauma even if we think we’ve moved on. Stress takes a toll. Being afraid takes a toll and leaves a mark in our psyche, like a scar but on the inside.

One of the most well-known examples is military service. Our military service men and women experience far more stress than most of us do. So it is understandable that many veterans feel the effects of trauma afterward. The name for that is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It can be tragically seen in the number of veterans who take their own life, which is much higher than how many personnel die while on active duty.

Each year, about 1,176 active-duty American military personnel die in service. (About three-quarters of those deaths are not from combat but things like accidents and illness.) However, we lose about 6,205 veterans every year to suicide, after their service is done. That is 17 veterans a day, which is 1.5 times the number of non-veteran suicides. It is terrible and tragic how much we let our veterans suffer once they aren’t on active duty. But it also shows the heavy toll of trauma.

This is nothing new. In the past, soldiers talked about “combat fatigue” (WWII) or “shell shock” (WWI). Sgt. Ed Stewart served in Europe in the 84th Division during World War II, and said that he had “never known a combat soldier who did not show a residue of war.” His mother said later that he “left Europe but never arrived home.” Hence the saying, “there are no unwounded foxhole veterans.” Trauma always leaves a mark.

I mention all of this because we need to be aware. We need to be aware because we have been traumatized over the past year.

Think of all the difficulty that the pandemic has caused, how stressful it’s been, and how much we have worried. That stress takes a toll. As the beginning of a new year, let us be aware that we will be traumatized by all the fear we’ve carried—over contracting the virus or our loved ones getting it. We’ll be traumatized over the economic fallout of the pandemic and the loss of jobs. And our country will be traumatized by the unfathomable number of deaths that continue (398,000 total as of Jan 18). Even after things settle down, we will be plagued by feelings of guilt—“Could we have done more to prevent those deaths?” Think about the guilt that someone feels who spread the virus to people that ended up dying from it; how traumatic that would be.

And we should recognize the other traumatic events of last year that weren’t even virus related. Black people will be traumatized because of the fear they live in from the authorities. Immigrant children will be traumatized who were taken from their parents at the border. Officials who were ordered to commit those acts will be haunted by what they did. Our democracy is still shaking from the attacks on the US capital and the counting of our votes. People in the northwest will be traumatized from all of the wildfires, and there were more hurricanes in the gulf, etc. There’s no getting around it: we’ve had a hard year.

So what can help heal us from all this trauma? The same thing that always heals us: grace. It is always there, waiting for us to acknowledge that we need it. And we desperately need the grace that Jesus offers. In his earthly life, Jesus showed grace to people who had been hurt—healing and strengthening them. He showed grace even to people who had hurt others—forgiving and blessing them. His grace healed the sick and restored people who had been left out. His grace can do that today, and that is what we need. So as you continue into this new year, be mindful of the toll that fear and worry took on you last year. Acknowledge those feelings, and in doing so give them to God, and receive amazing grace in return.