Traumatic events produce indelible marks on the individual. Sometimes they’re physical injury. Sometimes they’re psychological injury. But always they alter the person forever. The damage can be so severe as to totally debilitate the individual or can be at a level that just torments the individual, taking the joy out of life.
But individuals differ in their responses to trauma. Exposed to essentially the same trauma one person may be relatively unaffected while the other suffers severe post-traumatic symptoms that persist for years. What accounts for the difference? This could provide a clue for effective treatment or prevention of the negative effects of experiencing traumatic events.
In today’s Research News article, “Longitudinal Evaluation of the Relationship Between Mindfulness, General Distress, Anxiety, and PTSD in a Recently Deployed National Guard Sample. “
http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/article/10.1007/s12671-015-0400-0/fulltext.html
it is demonstrated that an individual’s degree of mindfulness appears to mitigate the continuing effects of trauma. The more mindful a soldier the better he/she adapts to the distress produced by trauma.
These post-traumatic distress symptoms are due to past events. Whatever event triggered the symptoms is no longer present. Being able to focus on the present situation renders past events less able to continue influencing the individual’s state. Since, mindfulness means present moment awareness, it is not surprising that it would assist in restricting the long-term impact of trauma. Hence, mindfulness makes the individual more resilient and less affected by trauma.
There is now a considerable body of literature that mindfulness training can be useful in treating the continuing long-term distress produced by trauma. Today’s article suggests that the individual difference in the response to trauma may, at least in part, be due to the individual level of mindfulness.
So practice mindfulness and don’t be afraid. You’ll be better equipped to deal with it in case you are exposed to trauma.
CMCS
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