Trauma has long been regarded as an individual event, with varying degrees of adverse experiences, unfortunately, in recent times affecting many individuals. But most people have been diagnosed PTSDwith some estimates as many as 6,000 people per day in the US The National PTSD Center says that about 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5 percent) in the US are diagnosed with PTSD each year, and 6 percent will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. These statistics seem dubious unless the same people are re-victimized or the symptoms persist for years, which is often the case. Otherwise, this means that different people fall victim to it year after year, increasing their lifetime prevalence to more than 6 percent.
The prevalence of PTSD and its consequences is of greater public concern, or at least it should be when we consider the negative impact on others who are not direct victims. For example, 36 people were killed mass shooting According to this organization, another 177 people were injured in the USA from July 2 to 14 this year. Archives of Gun Violence. There are an average of 1.5 mass shootings per day in the US, and each incident affects many others, such as bystanders, neighbors, loved ones, acquaintances, classmates or colleagues, or even in the community who are aware of the episodes. They can develop cynicism and fearwhich can be harmful and interfere with a person’s work.
Of course, most others will not develop PTSD, but they will still be emotionally affected by these situations and may develop PTSS (post-traumatic stress disorder).vulnerable stress symptoms) or subclinical PTSD, as dark emotions move between people as a result of emotional contagion. This effect would exist even without an actual diagnosis of PTSD. With so many traumatic experiences happening to people and with emotional reactions such as fear, angeralertness, panic, horror and many others that spread through emotional contagion, which means that the effect spreads through Social media and other methods, outside of a DSM diagnosis; some may still be depressed without having a dysfunctional emotional experience and may be less happy because of it traumatic injury.
And then there are the forgotten: the street sweepers, the homeless, the chronically and permanently mentally ill, and other marginalized people. Behavior, such as revengeshootings and attacks and dark emotions like cynicism, anxietyfear disbeliefand vindictiveness circulates in society. Relationships become more fractured and polarized. As divisiveness spreads, it seems to be a trend that is so prevalent these days that trauma is on its way to becoming mainstream in American society.
In fact, with the dark emotions contagious from others or the invisible emotional residue that waits for each violent incident to arise, one could say that America is experiencing an invisible emotional turmoil. It may be a chronic and permanent injury when we add corruption and other sad experiences in the current political world.
Trauma can hold dark emotions in emotional waste. Just because an emotion is invisible doesn’t mean there isn’t a residue. And dark emotions can spread. The good news is that emotions can be regulated. Cognitive reappraisal and relabeling can help when dealing with difficult emotions.
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