Vicarious Trauma
Can Humor Help?
By: Joel Dvoskin
As many of you know, working with people in the justice system means that we will listen to the stories of those we serve, and they are often tragic. The average person in jails, prisons, or on probation or parole has led a life filled with trauma. As Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D has taught us, trauma can negatively affect our health and wellbeing in many ways, including sensitizing our threat-response system, disrupting self-regulation and emotional control, and impairing our social and familial relationships. At the extreme, it can cause people to remain in “flight, flight, or freeze” mode even in the absence of an actual threat.
What we now know is that the effects of trauma are not limited to people who suffered the tragic event. Listening to tragic stories all day can affect professionals (e.g., counselors, officers, nurses, etc.) in very similar ways. Forgive a bit of jargon, but this form of “vicarious trauma” can lead to “secondary traumatic stress (STS).”
One way to deal with STS is through the use of humor, and humor can be a safe and effective strategy as an active bystander. If a co-worker is starting to show signs of burnout, empathy fatigue, or an amygdala hijack, our first action is to identify our own inhibitors. For example, I might worry about making things worse, or that I am overreacting, or that no one else is saying anything, or that maybe it is not a big deal. Once we identify our own inhibitors, well-intended and non-disparaging, lighthearted humor can be a way to safely intervene. How is this possible? Because humor can be a very effective way to relieve the negative effects of trauma. Humor can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body after stress. Humorreduces cortisol and adrenaline, lowers blood pressure, and relaxes muscle tension, all of which are physiological antidotes to the chronic hyper-arousal created by trauma. Dr. Perry reminds us that humor is profoundly relational; when someone laughs with us, not at us, it strengthens attachment and safety. Perhaps, most importantly, humor can help to restore perspective. “Laughter is a relational act that helps regulate the brain and is biology’s way of giving us a moment of safety in the midst of chaos.“(Dr. Perry)
But be careful! Just like any medicine, humor can heal or harm, depending upon timing, context, and intent. How humor is used matters as much as why. If humor feels forced, premature, or mocking, it could trigger shame or mistrust, and we certainly don’t want the person to feel dismissed or minimized.
In short, to counteract the effects of vicarious trauma, consider a bit of lighthearted humor. When offered with empathy at the right time, humor really can be the best medicine.