Vicarious Trauma: The Impact on First Responders and Caregivers
The sound of sirens blares as red lights flash down the street. For some, it’s a saving grace; for others, it’s a reminder of the hardest day of their life. But what if you’re the one operating the sirens? What if you’re the one experiencing everyone’s worst days with them?
Let’s talk about the impact vicarious trauma can leave on first responders and caregivers.
How Do We Experience Secondary Trauma?
Vicarious Resilience and Transformation
While around 20% of people with trauma develop PTSD, research estimates that 50-70% experience post-traumatic growth. Just like trauma, many service providers experience personal growth after working with people who are traumatized.
Vicarious resilience and transformation are essentially the post-traumatic growth of service providers. Helping someone escape danger, survive an illness, or recover from extreme emotional distress can inspire a sense of mental and emotional fortitude in first responders and caregivers.
Compassion Satisfaction
Compassion satisfaction is similar. It’s less about the inner strength developed through helping others and more about discovering meaning. When life has meaning, we’re more likely to be resilient, cope with stress better, and grow from challenges.
Vicarious Traumatization
However, not everyone experiences the afterglow of feeling needed and strong for others. Vicarious traumatization describes the negative impact left on those who help others through trauma. As a result, they may trust others less, feel less safe in the world, and question their spiritual beliefs.
Secondary Traumatic Stress
Secondary traumatic stress can mimic the symptoms of post-traumatic stress just by being there for others while they process trauma or putting yourself in the shoes of someone who was traumatized. Some symptoms include hyper-vigilance, avoidance, intrusive thoughts of the event, guilt, sleeping difficulties, a compromised immune system, and exhausted or irritable moods.
Compassion Fatigue
While burnout can occur in any profession, compassion fatigue mainly affects those in helping professions like healthcare, teaching, social work, and justice. Burnout comes from overworking yourself with improper stress management, but compassion fatigue comes from working with traumatized individuals. It’s an emotional, physical, and spiritual depletion of energy.
What Increases the Risk of Vicarious Trauma?
If you work with people who are traumatized, you’re at risk of vicarious trauma. Things that can increase your risk include:
Having your own traumatic experiences
Social isolation (in and outside of work)
Emotional avoidance or a tendency to blame others
Poor job training, supervision, and emotional preparedness
Constant exposure to trauma with few breaks and other tasks
Failure to process events at work in a supportive environment
What Does Vicarious Trauma Feel Like?
Vicarious trauma symptoms can exist in the background where we don’t realize they’re operating. For example, we may feel tired on days we didn’t exert much energy. Here are some symptoms to look out for if you’re concerned about vicarious trauma:
Emotional outbursts or numbness
Fatigue, as well as trouble falling or staying asleep
Unexplained aches and pains
Back-to-back colds or infections
Difficulty concentrating, risking accidents at work
Sense of hopelessness or meaninglessness
Social withdrawal and/or isolation
Irritability and aggression
Excessive worrying and spiraling thoughts
Coping with substances and other risky behaviors
How Do You Heal From Vicarious Trauma?
Having a support system on and off the job is important. At work, you can talk with coworkers about how certain events have made you feel. They can be great accountability partners to ensure you care for yourself. Consider checking in with each other about meals, sleep, hygiene, and exercise.
At home, you can build predictable routines that help you feel grounded off the clock. Having transition activities between work and home also helps to reinforce the boundary that your home is a safe place work doesn’t get to touch.
Everyone takes work home with them sometimes, though. If you’re looking for a confidential space to talk about what happens at work, consider working with a therapist who can help you manage symptoms, process trauma, and find relief.