Ask “How are you?”, and I’m not sure what to say these days.
The stress of multiple crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, economic turmoil and traumatic events related to systemic racism – strains leadership abilities. It appears that many of us are experiencing degrees of “Secondary Traumatic Stress”.
We are not alone. Harris polls conducted for the American Psychological Association in early June suggest that more than 8 in 10 Americans (83%) say that the future of our nation is a significant source of stress. More than 7 in 10 (72%) Americans say that this is the lowest point in the country’s history they can remember.
The high stakes of the current time create conditions of trauma for all. While “Secondary Traumatic Stress” has been thought to be the unique experience of helping professionals, it now seems to apply to many. Symptoms are emotional numbness or detachment, feelings of being overwhelmed or hopeless, anxiety, irritability, low energy and unhealthy coping behaviors. Today, these feelings are common.
Although there are no easy solutions, the perspectives of historical leaders and role models who faced enormous sustained challenges provide inspirational guidance. Google the biographies of those named below, and you will learn that they all experienced secondary traumatic stress in their lives. Sigmund Freud asserted that the damaging effects of trauma diminish when individuals react energetically to the experience. The leaders noted below reacted with active and dedicated rebellion and clearly defined purpose.
Winston Churchill
Churchill focused relentlessly and fearlessly on victory for Great Britain against Nazism and the Third Reich. the recent account of Churchill’s leadership during the Blitz, described in Erik Larson’s book, The Splendid and the Vile. He surrounded himself with advisors and family, indulged in his own eccentricities and rebellions, encouraged others to party with him, and did not judge others. Rather than retreat into privilege, he boldly faced the challenges, dangers and horrors that the citizens of Great Britain faced. In this way, he and his citizens triumphed under extraordinary odds and conditions.
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
Viktor Frankl
Frankl asserts that the question to ask ourselves can not be: “What can I expect from life?” but must be “What does life expect of me?” Through life in the concentration camps he sustained the commitment to say to say “YES” to life under all conditions. His passion from high school on was to study and treat depression, and his early work dramatically reduced the suicide rate in students in Vienna. See the recently published book, Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, which contains lectures he gave in 1946, just 11 months after he was liberated from a labor camp. His life purpose was to advance meaning as the central motivational force and source of strength in human beings.
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
Dwight Eisenhower
Eisenhower emphasized planning and responsibility and approached uncertainty as a world-class poker player. His guidance: 1. Know your enemy. 2. Know yourself. What’s your bottom line? How far are you willing to go in moments of uncertainty? What will you sacrifice? He didn’t expect a world without crisis. Rather, he advised appreciation for the moments between crises (if they occur). Although his family opposed involvement in war for religious reasons, Eisenhower attended West Point and conducted a fearless life impacting many crucial issues including the defeat of the Nazi’s in WWII, and civil rights in the US. He never deviated from the belief that the United States should be prepared to use force to protect and liberate others.
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
What can we do?
- Talk about what is really going on with trusted others. Everyone benefits from a team.
- Remember that everyone will have at least a few missteps.
- Limit exposure to toxic interactions. They are like second-hand smoke.
- Take as much time as you can to reflect about yourself and what’s going on around you. The result will be clear thinking, and a clear purpose that will encourage and sustain you.
