Secondary trauma is a stress syndrome that results from learning about traumatic events experienced by others. Being regularly exposed to distressing material can lead to effects ranging from feeling of powerlessness to symptoms similar to PTSD. Those who are heavily affected may avoid activities resembling the trauma, or even try to completely alienate themselves.
Students who experience such stress may struggle to engage with distressing material they are confronted with in class. Lecturers sometimes find it challenging to lead a class where the students are affected by the content being discussed. Outside of class, checking the news multiple times a day and reading about disturbing events may also cause mental strain. Researchers closely studying distressing issues are often emotionally affected, regardless of their expertise. And while these effects can hinder the work of all three of these groups, such emotions are rarely acknowledged and their implications are often overlooked.
Feeling powerless
An often-heard cause for secondary trauma? Closely following news events from around the world. Kristiana Rivera, a VU student mastering in Conversational Analysis, says the content she follows often makes her mentally strained. She explains that this includes “a feeling of powerlessness”, which she tries to resist as such helplessness is something “privileged people benefit from.”
A sense of lack of control is often at the front of emotions experienced by students who stay informed about global affairs. Ella Haeusgen, a third-year student at AUC, describes the impact developments in the world have on her using the German term ‘Weltschmerz’. She defines it as a “feeling of hopelessness, sadness, everything in the world being out of your control.” Rivera considers following first-hand accounts of news events to be particularly emotionally disturbing. She chooses them over regular reports, because of her distrust towards big news outlets. Additionally, coming from the United States, she considers her country to be “complicit in genocide”, what makes her feel “shame and guilt.”
Joining Amsterdam’s diverse international environment may also amplify the emotional impact. Risa Hasegawa, another Conversational Analysis student, says she started being affected by the news when she moved to Amsterdam last year from her home in Japan. When meeting people from different backgrounds in The Netherlands, she started to be more aware of developments around the world, and also being more emotionally affected by them. “In Japan, at least in my community, people don’t talk about it that much, it is easy not to think about it”, she says.
Intense interviews
But it’s not just students that struggle with these feelings. Maartje Weerdesteijn, assistant professor at VU, specializing in Criminal Law and Criminology and Marije Luitjens, a lecturer in the Social Sciences at VU are studying the role that emotions play in teaching and research. They recently decided to discuss the issue with VU students and staff at a meeting in 3D, where they explained the impact of emotions from their perspective. According to them, the emotional impact of the material researchers work with is rarely discussed, despite them often being closely involved with highly distressing topics for prolonged periods of time.
Luitjens says she experienced emotional distress when working on some of her research. Having spent eight months in Honduras exploring the issue of gang violence and community resilience, she only noticed that she was “dealing with something” after coming back home. Although having no notion of what it was at the time, she would later realize she experienced secondary trauma when she herself became interested in the topic of researchers dealing with emotions.
She would later experience similar stress when conducting online interviews as part of her research into crimes against humanity in Medellín, Colombia. Due to the time difference, the calls would often take place late at night, and she found having to go to sleep immediately afterwards difficult emotionally.
Weerdesteijn adds that being affected by such research is not dependent on how successful in the field you are: “You can be very successful and still be impacted.” She also notes that the emotional impact can differ depending on a person’s background. As an example, she says that people coming from countries where war took place, may be more likely to be affected by learning of conflicts in other places.
More kind people
But how can one navigate distressing issues that are out of their control? Luitjens’ advice to students overwhelmed by news events is to acknowledge these emotions and make space for them, while also discussing them with their peers. “It might also be useful to limit time spent reading about latest events and seeing live-streamed news from conflict zones”, she adds.
Master student Rivera regulates her emotions caused by exposure to news by finding balance in the content she consumes on social media. “I try to look equally at fun, sadness, and resistance, to not be constantly looking at depressing things.” But others may not give themselves permission to limit their news intake. “I feel it is our responsibility to know what is happening in the world”, says Conversational Analysis student Hasegawa, though she acknowledges that “it is up to the individuals whether they take the break or not.”
In third-year student Hausegean’s view, dealing with emotions caused by disturbing world developments is about not losing hope. “I still try to think there is good in human beings, I know there are experts in all areas who are doing good things”, she says. “When it comes to world politics, you have no power”, she says, but advises to try to make a change on a small scale, also as means of dealing with emotions. “Be a kind person. This what we need in the world, more kind people”, she adds.
Channeling emotions
Jelle, a member of VU for Palestine who prefers not to reveal his last name, says he organizes protests as a way of channeling emotions evoked by the events in Gaza. “It’s keeping me sane. Not doing anything makes you feel like nothing is of value, it gives way for despair”, he says.
‘I try to not be constantly looking at depressing things’
For others, dealing with such emotions through getting involved may induce a feeling of anxiety. “I keep asking myself: Am I doing enough? Are my values and actions aligned?”, says Rivera. Hasegawa is also having doubts about her engagement. “I try helping in small ways, but I don’t know if it’s because I am devoted to the cause, or because I am trying to make myself feel better”, she says.
Deal with it
As course materials may often include sensitive subjects, lectures are another potential source of mental strain for students. Assistant professor Weerdesteijn is researching the effect emotions have on teaching and has recently contributed a chapter to a book on this topic. She says that during lectures on sensitive topics, her students would sometimes be too “caught up in emotions” to properly engage with the material. “Lecturers presenting potentially distressing content may often benefit from creating space for students to acknowledge their feelings”, she advices.
Social Sciences lecturer Luitjens’ insight into the role of emotions in research prompted her to make changes to how she conducts lectures. “At first, my teaching approach was like: I will show students the world as it is, you have chosen to learn about this subject, deal with it.” She would later realize that in order to talk about these distressing topics, it is crucial to acknowledge the emotional impact they have, and to provide space and care for this. Her advice to lecturers is to give space for students to talk about their feelings and recognize their presence. “Coping with the emotions helps you be a better student or researcher, as it allows you to better engage with the topic”, she says.