Download PDF

Back to Previous Page

CASE STUDY
"Gesu Parish Staff" • Trauma

Sheila M. Harron Ph.D. is a psychologist in the Talitha Life Program at Saint Luke Institute.

Recently, the Gesu Parish staff was traumatized when Father Martin, Sister Mary Genoa, and Anna and John Unitis were hit by a car that ran a red light. Anna was seriously injured with a broken leg requiring surgery while the other three suffered minor injuries. Their car was totaled and a passenger in the other car died of head injuries.

Two weeks later the four of them are experiencing diverse physical repercussions and they are each living their lives differently. Father Martin avoids driving. When he does drive he breaks out in a sweat and drives so cautiously that he is a hazard to himself and others. He keeps questioning himself, "Should I have seen the car coming? What if I had not responded to that last phone call that delayed me?" He keeps putting off following through with the insurance company. Anna wakes up at night with nightmares as she replays the accident. She has lost her appetite, is agitated and worried, and is having difficulty concentrating. She snaps at her children frequently. She is very angry at God and wonders why God would let this happen. Sister Genoa wants neither to talk about nor be reminded of the accident. She has plunged into work and finds solace in caring for others. She believes the accident was unfortunate but not Father Martin's fault. She is impatient with his irrational thinking and his reluctance to follow through with the insurance company. She is furious with the driver of the other car. The sisters who live with her notice that she is uncharacteristically moody and complains often about headaches and back pain. John has become quiet and withdrawn and his blood pressure is elevated. He feels numb and doesn't understand the others' reactions.

The Impact of Trauma
Each person in the accident shows signs of acute stress. Symptoms of hyperarousal (irritability, jumpiness, anxiety), intrusion (nightmares, flashbacks, unwanted thoughts about the accident) and avoidance (not driving, staying away from reminders of the trauma) during the first month after a trauma can be expected. If the symptoms stay longer than three months they suggest Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some people experience few immediate signs of reaction to a trauma only to have symptoms appear months later; e.g., six months after the Oklahoma City bombing, domestic violence increased among rescue workers. Differences in response to trauma flow from each person's perceptions of the event (driving the car versus not knowing what hit you and waking up in an emergency room), their past histories (having experienced physical abuse as a child, having had a previous accident) and "givens" about them (being nervous, having control issues, being out of touch with feelings). In addition, the bubble of taken-for-granted safety has been burst and it will likely take some time for them to feel safe again.

Responding to Trauma
Trauma shakes people to the core. How might the parish team help themselves and avoid developing disturbing sequelae? As we look at the things that they might do we can acknowledge that the events of September 11, 2001 have traumatized many of us and have broken a bubble of security that might never be repaired in full. All of us have witnessed acts of violence, abuse and national trauma, through the images in the media and/or personal experience or that of loved ones. We, too, might need to be proactive in attending to the personal repercussions of trauma at the current time.

Debriefing is a helpful response. Some of the staff, as some of us after September 11, did this spontaneously by talking to others or describing to loved ones what happened. The staff could also meet as a group to process what happened, what they saw, thought and experienced and how it is affecting each of them. They can share their emotions--gratitude for surviving, sadness over injury and death, surprise at the suddenness of unbidden feelings, helplessness, and fear. Many of us also debriefed following the terrorist attacks: recounting the facts, the horror, the heroism, our feelings and perceptions. The parish staff may need some help to normalize their stress reactions. The more people know what to expect the more they will be able to deal with what comes. Persons who experience trauma might practice stress management by being gentler with themselves and others, getting more rest, spending more time with friends and family, talking on the telephone, balancing their lives better, taking time for leisure, and managing the use of cigarettes, alcohol and coffee. In response to September 11, we need to know about symptoms of intrusion, hyperarousal and avoidance and respond better to others and ourselves. We can expect that we will be under greater stress in the months ahead.

Those working through trauma can also deal with the reality of what happened to them by taking action. Their action might include some re-ordering of their priorities like spending more time with family, connecting more deeply with co-workers, starting spiritual direction, praying more consistently, volunteering to tutor inner city children, studying Islam or taking up painting. This movement to action helps counter the passivity, hopelessness and helplessness that often paralyze people who have been traumatized.

Our spirituality assists us in ordinary and traumatic times. Many found solace in the services that local churches, synagogues and mosques provided in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Clergy helped their congregations grieve, pray, formulate action and forge meaning out of the overwhelming events.

Spirituality entails living our experiences more consciously in relationship with God. The Gesu staff experienced a traumatic, life-threatening accident. Each of them will live this experience more deeply and fruitfully as they allow themselves to experience their feelings and raise their questions to God: What about anger? Fear? Hopelessness? What about suffering or the ubiquity of injustice and evil? What about death? When and how will it come? What meaning can there be in the events of September 11th? Some will find themselves grappling with their images of God. Old images might have to be surrendered to make room for an experience of God that fits the new events. Spirituality will neither give us pat answers nor inoculate us from suffering. It will call us forth into the mystery of God while opening us to the mystery of our own lives.

LUKENOTES is a bimonthly publication of Saint Luke Institute.
Permission to use these materials must be requested in writing by contacting
lukenotes@sli.org

SLI EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Saint Luke Institute
8901 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20903
(301) 422-5499 • (301) 422-5519 (fax)

back to top