Secondary traumatic stress is a serious condition that is rarely recognized

Trauma can not only happen to someone who has faced a traumatic event directly. You can also experience stress from hearing about other people's bad experiences. In the realm of psychology, this is known as secondary traumatic stress (STS) or secondary traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress is a condition that often occurs but is rarely realized. How can STS occur?

Negative emotions resulting from trauma can be "transmitted" to other people

A person can experience trauma due to sexual violence, bullying, unhealthy relationships, disasters, and so on.

All of these bad experiences can trigger emotional or behavioral disturbances that have an impact on the life of the trauma victim.

Support from friends, family, and professionals such as psychologists is very important during trauma recovery.

Their existence is of great significance because it is only to them that victims can share their traumatic experiences.

However, the people around the victim are also prone to experiencing negative emotions from hearing about these bad experiences.

As empathy emerges, the negative emotions that continue to build up are the forerunners of secondary traumatic stress (STS).

Secondary traumatic stress is a condition that can occur quickly or slowly. STS that occurs slowly is also known as vicarious trauma.

Before experiencing vicarious trauma, someone will usually experience compassion fatigue and burnout first.

Compassion fatigue appears when you want to help someone, but are unable to care for your own emotional state.

As a result, everything about the victim's experience makes you feel physically and emotionally exhausted.

Meanwhile, burnout is a condition that arises from being in an emotionally unhealthy environment for too long.

If not handled, compassion fatigue and burnout gradually makes you vulnerable to experience secondary traumatic stress.

Anyone who is at risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress?

Anyone can experience STS, but the people closest to the victim usually have a greater risk.

In addition, the risk of STS is also higher in people who work as therapists, counselors, paramedics, police, social workers, doctors, and lawyers.

This is because they are the people who most often interact with trauma victims, making them vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress.

They find it easier to empathize with the victim so that the negative emotions and pain the victim experiences feel much stronger.

Symptoms secondary traumatic stress that needs to be recognized

Secondary traumatic stress is a condition that occurs not because of the trauma victim's fault.

This happens because everyone has different abilities in listening to traumatic stories continuously, even to a professional psychologist.

Therefore, you need to know what symptoms appear when a person has STS. Launch page Good Therapy, here are a number of symptoms that need to be recognized:

• Emotional symptoms, especially prolonged feelings of sadness and anxiety. You may also become irritable, experience changes mood and a sense of humor, or feeling insecure.
• Physical symptoms such as headache, skin rash, and acid reflux.
• Cognitive symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, remembering, and making decisions.
• Behavioral symptoms, such as withdrawal from social relationships, consuming alcohol, difficulty sleeping, and changes in diet.
• Spiritual symptoms that include feelings of loss of hope and purpose, as well as feelings of losing connection with others.

Support from loved ones is very important to trauma victims, but make sure you also take care of your emotional state to ward off secondary traumatic stress. That way, you can help the trauma victim effectively.

If you experience a collection of the symptoms above, do not hesitate to consult a mental professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

This step aims to minimize the impact of STS on your mental health.