CARE AND HEALING
"Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." -bell hooks
This month has been beyond heavy. Between the Supreme Court leak of a likely decision to overturn abortion access, the targeting and murder of Black elders in Buffalo, the mass shooting of children and teachers in Texas, and the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by police, we here at All In Wisconsin don’t have the emotional capacity to give you the robust and detailed messaging that our Don’t Take The Bait Newsletter strives for. Instead, we would like to offer some resources for processing, grieving, and taking care of yourselves. If you have any resources, accounts, posts, books, podcasts, or anything else you’ve found comfort in, please feel free to share them with us.
The following is an excerpt from the UMass Amherst Center for Counseling and Psychological Health’s Healing and Wholeness After Racial and Cultural Trauma
Safety and Stabilization
When you are impacted by trauma, it is common to feel unsafe in your body and in your relationships with others. Regaining a sense of safety can take days, weeks, or months. Finding safety and stability are the first steps toward resilience and recovery. Some people need to disconnect, insulate, and turn inward in a peaceful space. Others need to reach out and connect with their community in a space that feels safe. Creating safe and/or peaceful settings is a form of self-care. Examples of safe and peaceful settings healing practices:
Alone time to think, meditate or engage in mindfulness practices
Getting together with a small group of close friends
Keeping away from people, places, or things that make you feel drained
Making art or music
Journaling
Sharing cultural foods with friends and family
Unplug and limit or take a break from news, digital and social media
Spiritual practices that ground you, whatever your higher power may be
Remember your body. Relax, meditate, exercise, eat well, sleep, and BREATHE. Avoid or minimize use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and caffeine.
Processing the Feelings
Putting words and feelings to the emotions of trauma and making meaning of the experience is a crucial part of regaining control over your ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ instinctive responses. It is easy to become emotionally overwhelmed when talking about trauma, so a lot of people prefer to undertake this process with a counselor or therapist in a group or individual counseling session. During this time, many people experience feelings of anger and grief that need to be expressed to be able to move on toward healing. Hearing other peoples’ stories, having shared lived experiences with “people who have been there,” and feeling commonality are important aspects of healing. During this time, support from friends, community, and counselors are important to helping you heal. Examples of support healing practices:
Connecting/talking with peers or others who have shared lived experiences
Participation in support groups (transgender support group, POC support group)
Attending workshops and conferences with people who have gone through similar issues
Story sharing/narratives
Poetry/spoken word slams or open mike
Seeking nurturing from those who love and understand you
Support from family or a loved one/partner
Dancing or working out to get out extra energy
Other resources:
Text with a counselor free through the Crisis Text Line
Online meditation and movement-trauma informed practices
Self Care when the news is difficult from Therapy for Black Girls
A Kids Book About School Shootings
Some guidance from Black mental health professionals
Interactive tool on where to get mental health help
Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
