Trauma When You’re Black in America.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you are likely to be aware of the recent death of a Black man by the name of George Floyd. As indicated by The New York Times, George died after being handcuffed on the street in the custody of the Minneapolis police on Memorial Day, Monday May 25, 2020. It is also stated that a private autopsy by the family concluded that his death was a homicide, brought about by compression of his neck and back by Minneapolis police officers.

The purpose of this writing is to understand the psychological effects of this gentleman’s death on the Black community and why there is increasing support of Black lives, nationwide protests, and looting in various states. I will be discussing these psychological effects from the perspective of trauma and significant stress. HelpGuide.org has an excellent article that discusses emotional and psychological trauma in great detail. They describe emotional and psychological trauma as being the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security make you feel helpless in an otherwise dangerous world.  

If any of you have a child, a family member you care for deeply, a romantic partner, a loved one – what are some things you desire that they have in their everyday life? I would imagine you might desire that they have the ability to manage daily life stress, the ability and right to be productive citizens. You may want them to practice safety and for them to remain in safe settings at all times, if at all possible. This all sounds reasonable. Now, let’s say, this loved one of yours alerts you that they have just been assaulted or robbed in – of all places – their home. You might find that you may start to feel scared and worried for them. You may want to assist them in getting to a safe setting, getting in contact with police to have the assault or robbery investigated thoroughly, and to provide them with your support.

Again, this sounds reasonable and normal. Let’s say, 3 months from the day of this assault or robbery, they are settled in a new home and have moved on with their life. You feel comfortable that they are safe again. But then, it happens. This same loved one, in their new home, become the victim of another assault or robbery. You rush to their side to assist just as you did before, and notice this loved one is in shock, and yet on edge at the same time. As the days go by and you continue interacting with this loved one, you might notice they are agitated, irritable, their level of distrust has drastically gone up, and they may even have lost interest in activities they once loved to participated in. They may even start to develop increasing rage, anger, and might become physically violent.

Does any of this sound familiar? Although I use the example of the offense being an assault or robbery, the reality is that a traumatic event is simply an extraordinarily stressful event that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a world where you have a right to feel safe. Now, imagine that you experience this kind of stressful/traumatic experience on an hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis, simply because the color of your skin is distasteful and off-putting to certain individuals. 

This is what Being Black in America is like. Every day.

A traumatic event or experience naturally causes the person experiencing it to become distrustful, paranoid, and can leave them feeling unsafe and unprotected. Some physical symptoms of experiencing this kind of trauma can include heart palpitations, tremors, vivid dreams/nightmares, heightened anxiety/worry about what may happen during a general day. In theory, trauma is a more intense, detailed version of anxiety. According to The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Additionally, it is stated that anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events.

I share all this to shed the light on what the underlying reason of the actions you are seeing from others. It is important for me to state that not all Black people experience trauma. It is also important for me to state that the injustice of Black people can be triggering and can effect all differently. Trauma is a real response to seeing individuals who look like, talk like, and walk like you, being physically harmed, verbally harmed, or in some instances….being killed. If you have identified that you may be experiencing any of these symptoms currently and need help processing your personal experience of the recent death of George Floyd, and the current aftermath of where it leaves the safety of Black People in America, I encourage you to find support from:

·      Open Path Collective – they offer low cost, high quality therapy.

·      Therapy for Black Girls – therapy for Black Women.

·      Therapy for Black Men – therapy for Black men.

·      Psychology Today – has a large array of therapists – you can even filter the menu to identify a therapist based on insurance type, gender, age, ethnicity, and faith.

I encourage you to practice kindness, safety, and to remember that we are all apart of the human race. Be safe out there.