A Simple Way to Reduce the Effects of a Traumatic Event

After the Charlie Kirk shooting here in Utah, we at EleMental Healing understand that a lot of big emotions and reactions have been coming up in the public sphere, and with families, couples, and individuals. A lot of people attended the event, were trapped in classrooms without knowing what was happening, or watched some gruesome clips of the shooting.

We also recognize that this event has turned up the volume in our country and that the political climate feels scary and unpredictable for people on both sides. In light of that, I wanted to post a simple way to help people work through any trauma or stress related to this event or any other traumatic events in your life.

One of the best and simplest things you can do right after a traumatic event - whether that’s direct trauma to you or secondary trauma via someone else - is to go for a walk-and-talk!

Let me tell you why...

After 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina there was a large body of research about the rates of PTSD after mass disasters. It surprised researchers that the people of New York City had far lower rates of long-term PTSD than the people of New Orleans. There were a lot of factors that influenced these differences but one of the differences surprised researchers.

After the planes hit the towers, mass transit was shut down in New York and people were forced to walk home - often long distances - while they were processing the events of the day with each other.

In Katrina, however, people were stranded and isolated on roofs for days and were stuck in shelters for weeks without movement and where the focus was on finding resources like food, clothing, and shelter versus processing what happened to them.

These results align with everything that we know about how trauma is stored neurologically and how it gets resolved. Many trauma therapists use EMDR, a technique that uses bilateral stimulation (either side of the body) with eye movements, paddles, or tapping. Bilateral stimulation activates the brain in a way that helps release trauma from the parts of the nervous system that have stored the memory. The movement of feet hitting the ground in a back and forth motion is a natural form of bilateral stimulation.

In addition, exercise releases endorphins that offset all of the stress hormones released during trauma including adrenaline and cortisol.

So go on a walk with someone you trust - a friend or family member - and tell your story. If you don’t have someone nearby, talk on the phone or talk out loud to yourself (put your headphones in and people will assume you’re on the phone!). The speed, distance, and intensity of your walking is less important than the motion itself, although breaking a sweat helps. Stop when your body wants to stop and resume when you feel ready. After the walk, drink lots of water and take a hot shower or bath with Epsom salts. You will have released a lot of toxins - all of those stress hormones! - that need to be washed or drawn out of your body.

Don’t be surprised if the story is hard to tell at first or doesn’t come out chronologically. The reason is that trauma is stored in the less sophisticated part of our brain where memory, time, and language aren’t refined. Tell the story a few times or until you're tired of talking about it. Go on walk-and-talks until your story comes more easily, comes out in chronological order, and you don’t need to tell all of the details anymore. That means that you’re moving the trauma out of your brainstem (your reactive brain) and limbic system (emotional brain) to your pre-frontal cortex, the higher functioning part of our brain that is emotionally neutral. The next time you're triggered or overwhelmed about it all, go on another walk and tell the story again.

So whether you need support with a single event or a string of traumas, a walk-and-talk can help you feel better. If the walk-and-talks aren’t enough and you continue to experience intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, depression, anxiety, or overwhelming feelings related to the event, consider going to therapy for more support.

EleMental Healing is here for you if you need us. We are sending peace, love, and hope to everyone affected by this event and the events in our country during this period of time.