In more than thirty-three years as a clinical psychologist I don’t think I have ever seen as much attention being focused on a single topic as I am now seeing being given to the issue of trauma, loss and grief. I’ve been pondering the reasons for this. Depending on one’s clinical perspective, I suppose we could come up with many reasons. There is one, however, that dominates my thinking. Major losses have always been a part of human existence. From the day Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden, life has been all about loss—some necessary and some unnecessary. Major loss, sooner or later, comes to every person. And while our losses are relative and depend on the attributions we make to them, to feel great devastation to some of life’s losses has always been the norm. Trauma has also been around since the beginning of human time. Cain’s slaying of Abel wasn’t exactly a cakewalk! Wars were pretty brutal in ancient times, just as they are in most of the world today. And without anesthetics and antibiotics, human suffering was intolerable and death a welcomed relief. So where is the difference? Why are trauma and loss such a major, catastrophizing experience for us today?
Certainly, trauma is closely associated with loss, especially when associated with relationships (divorce, infertility, death). But was it easier to bear in earlier times? Some might say that in former times, when mothers bore many children and it was quite common to have seen several die before reaching adolescence, we didn’t value life as much as we do today. But this is not compelling for me. I think that there is a more convincing reason why loss and trauma are proportionately more devastating today. It is this: they are being superimposed on stress and anxiety that is already excessive. Or, to put it simply, we are already exceeding the limits of strain and nervous tension for which we were created.
Modern day living is stretching us outside the bounds of healthy existence. Humans were designed for ‘camel travel’. Living a constant ‘supersonic life’ as most of us do, without adequate ‘recovery time’ imposes stresses and strains that are taking their toll causing extraordinary stress disease. So then, superimposing a high level of fear and anxiety, as comes from threats of terrorism and war, is more than the modern mind, body and soul can take. Already weakened by prolonged stress, it is becoming increasingly difficult for our systems to tolerate the added trauma or loss, so PTSD becomes a more likely consequence of what was considered to be a less serious trauma in earlier times.
I say this as someone who has researched and written about the effects of stress for a long time. What evidence is there to support this idea? I wish I had time and space to lay out more than just a cursory bit of evidence, but I don’t. We do know, for instance, that the adrenal gland is enlarging to cope with demand—a process of bio-adaptation. But more adrenaline only means more stress! Cortisol levels are at an all-time high, with corresponding blockade of Gaba receptors and hippocampal atrophy that is severely exacerbated by trauma and depression. It doesn’t take much to push us over the edge anymore. We are going over the top, and paying a very high price for doing so. This issue of CCT, therefore, offers the counselor some insights from the perspective of several leading scholars in the field of trauma and loss. It will particularly be helpful to the practicing counselor or mental health professional who must bear the brunt of the struggle to aid those who suffer.
Archibald D. Hart, Ph.D., FPPR., is a clinical psychologist, Professor of Psychology and former Dean of the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as Executive Editor and Director of International Relations for AACC.
