What is Secondary Trauma?
Secondary trauma, also known as vicarious trauma, is experiencing a traumatic response (often in the form of emotional or psychological trauma) to events you haven’t directly gone through (Matejko, 2022). This often occurs over time due to repeated exposure to someone else’s trauma. It is common for those in helping professions, such as social workers, firefighters, and paramedics, as they witness, support, and provide care for victims and survivors of traumatic experiences. For that same reason, they can also affect a survivor’s Network of Care. It is important to recognize the signs to address secondary trauma and to provide ongoing care.
Signs of Secondary Trauma:
- Nightmares
- Missing work
- Lack of motivation
- Isolation
- Unhealthy coping or using substances or harmful behaviours to manage stress
- Constant worry about personal or loved one’s safety
- Avoiding physical intimacy
- Depression
- Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion, also known as burnout
It’s common to feel guilt or believe you’re not allowed to experience secondary harms from trauma you haven’t personally faced. Many avoid seeking support, thinking they’re not deserving — that is not true. Your feelings and experiences are valid, and you deserve to seek help and healing.
Coping with Secondary Trauma #
Think of yourself as a conduit, not a sponge. This means finding ways to allow other’s pain to flow through you, but NOT allowing that pain to soak in. Here are some strategies from the Cleveland Clinic (2024) and the WomenatthecentrE community that can help individuals better cope with secondary trauma:
- We must first take care of ourselves to take better care of others. Recognize when you overextend yourself to “rescue” others.
- Have check-ins with your body. Take moments to be mindful of how you are feeling emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
- Engage in activities that you enjoy (hobbies, exercise, art).
- Practice mindfulness, meditation, or other relaxing activities.
- Connect with your loved ones.
- Take care of your physical health (eat, sleep, and exercise).
- Limit or avoid heavy content and topics on social media. Instead, follow people who are positive, inspirational, and educational, or those who share funny memes!
- Seek peer support groups or counselling.
Use our Service Map to find support services available to Networks of Care.
