My Body Responds to Tragedy

For three days I read emotional reactions to the recent horrific events in Connecticut, while I myself felt … numb. Meanwhile, physical symptoms crept into my body: neck, shoulder, and head pain that did not respond to over-over-the-counter analgesics. At 3 a.m. on Tuesday, I awoke with a start from a dream involving gunshots. My pain level was at an almost unbearably intense level. Only then did I consciously connect my physical pain with the events. I spent the rest of the night sitting in a chair with my eyes closed. At some point near sunrise I felt my body shudder and understood that in doing so it was releasing some of the traumatic energy it had been holding onto since Friday.

I highly recommend the following 5-minute video. It was created in response to the Aurora shooting but is equally relevant to the current situation.