Understanding Psychological Trauma: Comparing Two Ways to Cope with Crisis

When facing critical situations, loss, or severe violence that deeply impacts mental well-being, human reactions to cope and heal usually fall into various categories. However, the two most common approaches often utilized without careful consideration are attempting to force forgetfulness and practicing empathetic listening.

Although both methods originate from good intentions to ease a suffering person's pain quickly, psychological perspectives reveal that these two coping styles yield completely contrasting outcomes regarding the mental recovery process.

Familiar phrases like letting it go or trying hard to forget bad memories are common advice given when someone encounters distressing events. Nevertheless, psychologists and mental health experts point out that forcing oneself or others to forget typically triggers a phenomenon known as emotional suppression.

The Department of Mental Health indicates that burying upsetting feelings does not actually erase memories, but rather pushes negative memories and emotions down into the subconscious level, potentially causing long-term damage such as:

• Rebound effect occurrences, where the harder one tries to forget, the more the subconscious focuses on recalling the event unintentionally.
• Unexplained physical symptoms, where suppressed stress manifests as insomnia, nightmares, chronic headaches, or chest tightness.
• Elevated PTSD risks, as failing to properly process emotions can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

In sharp contrast, the second approach known as empathetic listening forms the cornerstone of psychological first aid, abbreviated as PFA, according to World Health Organization principles.