With Covid-19 raging, the economy, civil unrest, public health concerns and fear votes won’t be counted are in the forefront. The resultant panic has contributed to a pressing need to vote and simultaneously for many, apprehension about going to the polls and the legitimacy of the election. The radical division in our country amplifies the urgency of Tuesday’s upcoming election. This year, for the first time, an unprecedented 100 million people took advantage of early voting by three days prior to the election. For the first time in U.S. history votes are likely to surpass 150 million.
“Collective trauma has taken over our country,” says Dana Brown of San Diego, ACES Science Statewide Facilitator. Those with adverse childhood experiences (ACES) resulting in Complex-PTSD have a more difficult time with activation of old trauma in addition to the current uncertainties—the pandemic, civil unrest, voter suppression, police presence and fear of personal safety. Some New York residents are receiving threatening robo calls.
If while standing in line at the polls, your palms get sweaty, your heart pounds, you feel that your legs are on the verge of buckling under, your vision blurs, butterflies take flight in your stomach or your muscles stiffen and you want to run home to a safe place — you should know you are not alone. Anxiety can be a master manipulator, so people often avoid situations that provoke it. Voting is one we can’t control — not just the election outcome, but our surroundings and often excessive stimuli.
One agoraphobic woman in North Carolina, after voting for the first time, told me she couldn’t remember whom she voted for. But she did recall, “My palms were sweaty. It was like going into a lion’s cage. I felt I had to do it, but then had to get out before he bit me.”
That’s because “trauma fragments the emotional capacity to be in the moment,” according to Tom Hubl, who has led workshops on collective trauma.
“From grassroots to grass tops we have to maximize this opportunity,” advises Dana Brown, who looks for the silver lining. “Find peacefulness amid the chaos.”
“We don’t have to look far to feed the fear,” says Brown. “We are all dealing with collective trauma, collective grief and collective loss. But there’s an opportunity for collective hope—I feed the hope.”
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