Healing through Collective Trauma

May 31

Amidst hosting healing retreats from our cozy Georgia cottage, I’ve been reflecting on the challenges so many of you are carrying right now. There’s a different kind of trauma moving through our feeds right now. Not the individual stories I usually help people unpack at retreats, but something bigger — a collective, national level of pain that’s seeping into our scrolling psyches every time we pick up our phones.

You usually think of trauma as something that happens to a single person at a specific time. But what we’re living through together right now is called national or collective trauma: deep emotional wounds a whole country carries after painful events like war, systemic injustice, or collective loss.

It doesn’t just live in headlines. It lives in:

A body that can’t sleep
A mind that can’t quit thinking
Emotions that spiral in reactivity
Spiritual warfare

It’s insidious. And it stacks on top of your own personal history because humans were never designed to constantly consume trauma-producing information in real time. Your nervous system evolved for:

Near danger
Short bursts of stress
Immediate resolution (you run, you fight, you shake, you rest)

Not:

Twenty-four-hour news cycles
Infinite scrolls of violence, outrage, and fear
Hundreds of stories a day that you can’t do anything about

And because fear sells, our media systems are financially incentivized to keep your attention locked onto the worst possible images and narratives. But this isn’t just “bad news.”

Those headlines poke at your earliest wounds.

When we see:

Corruption
Leaders abusing power
Communities abandoned after crisis
Ongoing racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia
War, mass violence, and terror

…it doesn’t just upset you “as a citizen.”

It echos in your inner child part that remembers:

Betrayal

When leaders, institutions, or systems lie, cheat, or break trust, it can feel like the caregiver who promised safety and then didn’t show up. Your nervous system doesn’t separate “government” from “attachment figure” very well — it just registers: I’m not safe. I’ve been betrayed again.

Injustice

Ongoing racism, sexism, classism, colonization, or unequal treatment under the law can mirror the experience of being punished unfairly, not believed, or treated as “less than” as a child. The old story — “No one will protect me. No one will listen.” — gets reinforced.

Abandonment and neglect

When communities are ignored after disasters, poverty, or violence, it’s like that child whose needs were not seen, soothed, or met. Images of neglected neighborhoods, underfunded schools, or ignored crises can activate those early experiences of “I don’t matter. My pain doesn’t count.”

Humiliation and shame

Public shaming of groups, historical oppression, cultural erasure — these resonate with memories of being mocked, bullied, or told to “stay small.” Shame is one of the most powerful silencers, and collective shame can feel like being shoved back into that small, powerless version of yourself.

Powerlessness and terror

War, mass violence, sudden disasters — they stir the same nervous-system imprint as growing up in a home where danger could erupt at any moment. The body remembers what it felt like to be small in a big, unpredictable world, and those sensations can rush back without your consent.

If you feel heavier, edgier, more exhausted or more reactive lately, you’re not broken. You’re not “too sensitive.”You’re having a very human response to a very inhuman amount of stress and threat.

If you feel a heaviness right now with what’s happening in our world, you’re far from alone.

Many people are describing a mix of:

Horror
Outrage
Grief
Helplessness
Numbness

All of these are normal responses to abnormal circumstances.

We’re About Healing Retreats that Build Community

It’s okay to name where you stand, especially in spaces dedicated to soul work and healing. In this community, we stand for:

Democracy
The Constitution
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Due process
Science
The rights and dignity of all people, especially:
- Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
- LGBTQIA+ communities
- People with disabilities (seen and unseen)
- Immigrants and refugees

And I personally remain committed to my work on this planet: holding the light during what often feels like spiritual warfare, and helping you do the deep inner work so you can hold more light too. Because I genuinely believe darkness doesn’t get the final word, and even the smallest light can rewrite the story.

A Space for Self-Healing

In a world where both media and people can feel like they’re constantly reaching for a piece of you, you deserve a space where the only voice you hear is your own. Whether that’s a space you create, or a space you find at one of our self-healing retreats.

No notifications. No “shoulds.”No buzzing, pinging, or doomscrolling.Just you and enough quiet to actually notice how you feel.

For many of us, that kind of space isn’t a luxury — it’s medicine.

Imagine:

A cozy mountain cottage
The low hum of nature instead of the hum of anxiety
Silence that softens your jaw and un-hunches your shoulders
Space where your nervous system can finally stop bracing

A place where you can step away from the people, places, and platforms that keep your system on alert. No phones, no distractions, no pressure to perform or respond.Just you and the mountains. Just you and your breath. You begin to move from reactivity (“I’m always triggered, on edge, or numb”) to responsiveness (“I can actually choose my next step.”)

Rewiring these beliefs is part deep soul work, and part re-programming old neural pathways so your body learns:

It’s safe to say no
It’s okay to miss a headline
You are allowed to take up space and protect your energy

This isn’t about temporarily numbing out from the world and then going right back into the same burnout loop. It’s about: integrating what you’re feeling; making sense of your responses; grounding back into your values and remembering that you’re more than a fried out nervous system on overdrive.

How to Prioritize Healing Everyday

You’re not just chasing “less anxiety.” You’re moving toward genuine freedom — in your body, your boundaries, and your sense of self. Your mental health matters now more than ever.

Here’s a few tips from someone who’s made it through several dark nights of the soul:

Limit your exposure.

Choose specific times and sources for news. Endless scrolling is not “staying informed”; it’s staying inflamed.

Notice your body.

When you consume difficult content, pause: What happens in your chest? Your jaw? Your stomach? Let your body have a say in when it’s had enough.

Name what’s yours and what’s collective.

“This is my personal grief.” “This is my community’s grief.” Both are real. Naming them can reduce the sense of vague, overwhelming dread.

Reconnect with your values.

When the world feels chaotic, ask: How can I show up today in alignment with what I believe in — even in one small way?

Prioritize rest as resistance.

Rest is not apathy. For burned-out nervous systems, rest is often the most radical, life-affirming thing we can offer ourselves.

Remember: Feeling deeply is a strength, not a weakness. Boundaries are self preservation, not selfish. You’re not alone in feeling like your brain is fried.

We’re living through layers of trauma — personal, ancestral, collective, national. Tending to your mental health in the midst of all this is not avoidance. It’s how you build the capacity to keep showing up — for yourself, for each other, and for the world we’re trying to create.

Even the smallest light matters. Yours included.