Could it happen here? It's a question a lot of people ask in the wake of a traumatic event.
Even if you're not directly connected to the events in El Paso, Gilroy or Dayton, chances are you've felt the weight of them.
"People do feel traumatized," says family therapist Jonathan Vickburg, of Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. The idea that an act of violence could happen anywhere makes us anxious. People may think twice about attending a music festival or walking into a WalMart.
But, there are strategies to counter the fear — and move forward.
Rian Finney, 16, knows the feeling of vulnerability all too well. He's never witnessed a mass shooting, but he's grown up surrounded by violence.
As a young kid in west Baltimore, he'd fall asleep to the sound of fireworks — or at least that's what he thought. Then, one day his parents told him he was hearing gunshots.
"It was just shock, that those [shootings were] happening right outside my house," Finney says. Living amid violence began to take its toll, especially in moments when he felt threatened. "I just felt this sense of, like, fear and anxiety going through my entire body," he says.
When you're in survival mode, there's a loss of hope, he says. "It's just an overwhelming sense of nothingness, like I can't do anything."
But after events such as the death of Freddie Gray, Finney — with the help of his parents and mentors — turned his fear into purpose.
"It does give me a sense of purpose to realize I can do something to combat this [violence]," Finney says.
He's gotten involved in groups including, Good Kids Mad City, which among other things, advocates for more safe spaces in the city for teens, and a network of advocates he met this summer at a Summer Youth Institute at Johns Hopkins. He advocates for changes such as new gun laws and social equality. He's about to begin 11th grade at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and has interned in the law offices of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy this summer.
He's now seen as a leader among his peers — motivating others to get involved. "If we continually lead people down the path of goodness, then stuff can actually change," he says.
Finney's ability to make meaning out of the misery of violence is an effective way to cope, says Vickburg, whether you have a personal connection to the recent mass shootings, have other experiences with trauma, or are just feeling distressed by the climate of violence today.
"What happens in trauma is we feel helpless," says Vickburg. "But if we can find purpose again ... we have a path forward and a path to help others."
Vickburg and other counselors and psychologists we spoke to offered advice for processing the repercussions of violence and trauma. They say trying these things can make you feel better — and might help make your community safer and more peaceful too.
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