Lichaamsgerichte therapie (psychotherapie & traumatherapie) in Amsterdam / Posts tagged "systemic opression"

collective trauma & the cultural crisis

02.11.2025 Mindfulness, Psychotherapy, somatic therapy, somatic traumatherapy, therapy, Trauma

“Of all the dangers we face, from climate chaos to permanent war, none is so great as this deadening of our response.”

~Joanna Macy

 

Trauma occurs where vitality has come to a standstill. Trauma is not an individual problem; it is a social problem and it is systemic. It does not belong to an individual, but is relational and always occurs within a context.

 

Collective trauma occurs when groups of people dominate and others are excluded, when human rights are violated. Think of racism, colonialism, and sexism. The consequences lie like a layer of permafrost in the history of humanity (Thomas Hübl).

 

Many indigenous peoples see the interconnectedness. In modern Western culture, we have come to believe in the illusion of separateness and hyper-individualism. This culture lies at the roots of the climate and ecological crisis. This crisis is about injustice that is so interwoven in our culture that we hardly see it.

 

The people who contribute most to exacerbating the crisis are the least affected by its consequences. Climate disruption hits those who contribute the least the hardest, such as people in the global south, young people, people who are not even born yet, and species other than our own. We in the West live a life of privilege, which brings with it a responsibility to address injustice and do the right thing. Standing up against injustice stems from our concern for others.

 

If there is one thing that the climate and ecological crisis makes abundantly clear, it is that we are all connected. All life on Earth breathes the same air. All life is physically connected to and therefore also by the Earth. And everything that every human being contributes makes a difference. Healing collective trauma is everyone’s responsibility. We heal this when we can see and feel the other in ourselves.

 

Photo: Simon Berger

state of the world stress & emotions

02.11.2025 Psychotherapy, somatic therapy, somatic traumatherapy, therapy, Trauma

“Emotions are often what lead people to act.” ~Dr. Britt Wray

 

In sessions about the state of the world, politics, systemic opression and the climate crisis, we focus on increasing resilience so that we don’t get stuck feeling the wide range challenging of emotions it brings. It is human to feel fear, sadness, anger, guilt, shame, and despair when we face reality and are confronted with loss, unpredictability, and threat.

 

It is also human to want to protect ourselves from this; we often want to avoid pain. We can become overwhelmed or numb if we feel too much at once. Then we are no longer able to act, and this does not help us personaly nor collectively.

 

Yet if we want to find our way in the wilderness of our times, we need to feel what is inside us. We feel because we love and care. And when we feel we do it is important is that we not only pay attention to what challenges us, but that we also pay attention to what we are grateful for, to what brings us pleasure, to beauty, and to what nourishes our lives. It is in the tension between pain and fear on the one hand and gratitude and love for life on the other, that our resilience grows. Trying to contribute to a more just world is what gives meaning to our lives.

 

Emotions often spur people into action. It may well be that feelings of ecological anxiety and grief, while enormously challenging, are in fact the crucible through which humanity must pass in order to muster the energy and conviction needed to make the life-saving changes that are now required. (From: Source)

 

Photo: Javier Miranda