Trauma Aware: 7 Days to More Biblical and Empathic Care预览

Day 2: The Prevalence of Trauma

Statistics show that more people will be exposed to a traumatic situation in their lifetime than ever before. More than two-thirds of people will experience a traumatic event by the time they are 16 years old.* A research study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology and Psychosocial Research found that more than 70 percent of respondents to their survey reported experiencing at least one traumatic event.** Trauma has become a reality of life.

The increased exposure may certainly be due, in part, to how accessible traumatic events are to us via our smartphones and computers. A natural disaster happens, and we are shown multiple firsthand videos of the destruction people endured. A shooting takes place, and every news platform broadcasts the devastating scenes as the main headline. A person is victimized, and the raw video footage of the event becomes a viral video for all to see. We not only see traumatic events in the news and on social media, but thanks to our smartphones we can watch and rewatch them, zooming in to the details or pausing to examine the specifics of the horrifying event. In these ways, our world has become more filled with trauma than ever.

We never know when trauma will hit but we do know it is abounding. We must grow in our understanding of it so we can wisely move into a person’s experience and not add to the pain people have already endured. Sometimes we add to a person’s trauma by missing the weight of what they have endured. Just because something is not traumatizing to one person doesn’t mean it won’t be traumatizing to another. We may not understand the impact of the trauma even when we know the details of it. This should motivate us to better understand trauma so we can better comprehend the weight of what people have endured.

A compelling rationale for comprehending trauma arises from the fact that the gospel provides the essential hope individuals need in a world full of atrocities. When we begin to grasp the intricate and multifaceted nature of traumatic experiences—how they can affect individuals emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually—we become more cautious with people’s stories. This, in turn, provides the opportunity for the church to extend lasting hope to those enduring such sufferings. While this is excellent motivation, we still have a long way to go in becoming trauma aware.

Trauma survivors need to know their past has not ruined their future. This is especially true for those who do not yet know Jesus is Jehovah Rapha, our healer (the Hebrew name Jehovah Rapha is usually translated “The God who heals”). He is our healer, and our sympathetic Savior. The cross is evidence that Jesus can empathize with being threatened, mistreated, abandoned, betrayed, and deeply wounded. He can empathize with the most painful of circumstances (Hebrews 4:15).

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* “Understanding Child Trauma,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/understanding-child-trauma.

** “The epidemiology of traumatic event exposure worldwide: results from the World Mental Health Survey Consortium,” PDF document at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4869975/pdf/nihms783910.pdf.