Trauma Creates Changes in Survivors
Exposure to mass violence becomes a marker in time. There’s before the event, and then there’s after the event. The resulting trauma touches all areas of functioning – physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, financial and spiritual.

Life after experiencing a mass shooting or other disaster seems strange and foreign, as if the world that once was so familiar has been erased. Psychologists refer to this as the “loss of the assumptive world.” The violence that has been experienced is so unexpected and out of the daily norm that all sense of predictability and regularity of life is shattered.

Life in a community that has experienced a mass shooting proceeds with old assumptions obliterated. As a result, expectations for normative behavior are shattered as well. The world now seems malevolent and threatening, full of risk, pain and disillusionment.

After an incident, those at risk for trauma include injured victims, uninjured survivors, family, witnesses, friends, first responders, counselors, the media and members of the community at large. Those who were directly impacted feel isolated and distanced from those who didn’t actually share the event, forming a sort of trauma membrane that separates them from others who don’t have the understanding that comes from first-hand experience. This sense of isolation can complicate communication and relationships following the event.

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Not everyone responds to trauma in the same way nor recovers at the same pace. People respond from their own individual perspective, but there are areas of commonly experienced response. Physical responses include tension, high blood pressure, compounded heart issues, digestive diseases and immune disorders. Mental effects include hypervigilance, loss of memory, decreased ability to attend to detail, anger, confusion, survivor’s guilt, as well as the emotional responses of grief, loss and a sense of betrayal. Financial burdens brought on by unanticipated medical and counseling bills can push some families toward bankruptcy. Spiritually, some people question how God could let this happen, and others turn to God with gratitude for saving them.

Behaviorally, some individuals dissociate or withdraw inward, turning away from normal activities and friends, becoming self-critical and obsessive about staying safe to the point of withdrawing from life. Others demonstrate hyperarousal, showing their trauma outwardly by becoming aggressive, easily angered, stubborn and quick to take offense.

One of the Columbine graduates I interviewed told me, “Everyone said, ‘it’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to have bad days or to have memory problems. It’s okay to grieve.’ But nobody ever told us that it is okay to be angry… I was just fighting everything in my life… No one said that it is okay and no one gave me any help with dealing with the anger. It was as if they could deal with sorrow but anger is such an ugly emotion that nobody knew what to do except say things like, ‘calm down,’ and ‘don’t be so angry.’ That didn’t help at all.”

In the aftermath of a tragedy, it’s important that people traumatized by the event understand that what they are feeling is not abnormal and that needing help is not a sign of weakness. It helps to talk with someone who cares – a loved one, trusted friend or counselor. Maintaining a healthy routine, eating right, getting regular exercise and rest are always important, especially
in the immediate aftermath. One of the things that has proven helpful to trauma survivors has been working for the benefit of others, moving beyond their painful experience in order to be of service.

Campus Safety is Affected
A simple list of symptoms doesn’t reveal the full effect of the disruption that traumatic stress causes or its significance for campus safety practitioners. Real-world consequences can be seen in damaged relationships, decreased quality of functioning, aggressive behavior, substance abuse, traffic accidents, risk-taking behaviors and in some cases suicide. Anyone exhibiting behaviors or actions that appear threatening, either to themselves or to others, should be referred for help immediately. Don’t be in denial to the point that you miss or minimize problem behaviors.

After a crisis, campus safety operations require the same strong leadership that is fundamental prior to the event. Longterm effectiveness in the aftermath depends on those strengths being sustained over an unpredictable and often extended period of time. Ensuring safety can prove to be a special challenge, especially when crises are often compounded by secondary, disruptive events.

The most positive forms of response to a mass tragedy address the campus community’s need to reclaim a sense of safety and to trust the intentions of those providing assistance. Campus safety officers play a vital part in recovery by fulfilling the essential role of restoring and maintaining security.

In the aftermath, campus safety operations can be complicated by highly energized and problematic behaviors. For example, something as simple as a traffic stop may trigger a volatile and possibly violent reaction. Agencies tasked with maintaining safety in the long-term shadow of a campus shooting or other crisis should prepare their staff by providing professional development in advance for interacting with students, faculty, staff and anyone who may have been traumatized by the violence.

Successfully navigating trauma’s difficulties requires enhanced coordination with a variety of agencies, including organizations outside the usual realm of daily practice – such as the Red Cross, state police, victim advocates, medical practitioners, psychologists and so on. Trusting relationships, clear communication and working agreements developed before a traumatic event happens increase the quality of the response and can minimize damage and loss over time.

A mass casualty event attracts an outpouring of support, with possibly thousands flocking to the campus to pay tribute or to somehow feel connected to the assaulted community. Plans for the aftermath should address the problems this will cause, especially when confrontations with members of the campus community may arise.

In conflict situations, those affected by prior trauma attempt to reassert control over their environment. Because of their earlier victimization, people are more likely to become defensive and combative if they feel threatened or minimized. Allowing opportunities for people to express their needs and have their opinions heard can help defuse difficult situations. It’s not to say that destructive behavior should be tolerated, but it needs to be understood in the same way that other special needs are.

Campus Safety Staff Members Need Support Too
The consequences of untreated trauma can lead to behaviors that pose a threat to long term well-being. Counseling and ongoing support should be available for campus safety workers who have been involved in the situation. They have encountered encountered psychologically challenging circumstances, and it’s important that they have the time and resources to process all they have seen and done.

A gradual re-entry into a routine is helpful. Some may need longer than others to return to a regular 40-hour workweek. Options for extended time off or part-time work may be needed. It’s a good idea to develop and frequently update a roster of substitute staff that can be called in to help if needed.

Survivors Can Overcome Trauma
While trauma is, by definition, disturbing and life-changing, for many of its victims, the long-term outcomes can be transformative rather than debilitating. It is a mistake to stereotype survivors as forever broken by their experience. Indeed, while traumatic memory is never erased and recovery doesn’t happen overnight, with time and attention to needs, trauma can be overcome and a new future, full of purpose and joy, achieved.

Planning for the aftermath of a traumatic event needs to become part of policy, decision-making, and strategic planning for safety officials and for all schools and institutions. With greater awareness of trauma’s effects, it is possible to be better prepared and better able to respond appropriately to the needs that arise following a mass casualty event.

Carolyn Lunsford Mears, Ph.D., is the award-winning author of Reclaiming School in the Aftermath of Trauma. An educator whose son survived the shootings at Columbine High School, Mears enrolled in the University of Denver to conduct dissertation research as a way to help others faced with tragedy. Her study, Experiences of Columbine Parents: Finding a Way to Tomorrow, was named AERA Qualitative Dissertation of the Year.

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