The politics of trauma

In her classic book Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman explores the complex interplay between trauma, politics and history. She argues that trauma is not only personal, but political and historical. She points to various democratic, political movements in the 20th century as responses to the discovery and rediscovery of traumatic experience. Movements such women's liberation, anti-war and child safety.

The history of psychotherapy is essentially a history of trauma. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Freud and others studied what was then called hysteria. Freud noted that hysteria was defined by the persistent symptoms of past experiences in the present. Although not yet fully conceptualized, he was uncovering the symptoms and the very nature of trauma. At this time, all of Freud’s patients were women. As he listened to them, he began to hear stories of their sexual abuse. He stumbled upon the dark underbelly of what was an otherwise prudish Victorian culture. A suppressed world of sexual abuse. He was shocked by this, and he found it hard to believe. He knew the political consequences of this discovery, and although he concluded that hysteria was essentially a response to sexual abuse, he failed to conceptualise the issue properly, and ended up resorting to speculation that these memories may have been largely fantasy. 

As Herman notes, this discovery was as much political as it is psychological, and although it took many more years until the feminist movement really gained steam, this was the beginning of the realisation of female repression. Later in the 20th century, the ubiquity of not only sexual but domestic abuse also came to the fore through trauma studies.

The other major political movement linked to trauma studies is the anti-war movement. Upon returning home from the Vietnam War, it became obvious that the most symptomatic mean were those who had witnessed or participated in violence. Unfortunately, many men were accused of being cowards and of the lacking moral character. But studies into these men also informed the anti-war movements, as it became more and more clear what these men were being asked to do, and what they were being subjected to. 

Herman's analysis of trauma emphasizes the importance of understanding trauma as a response to powerlessness and disempowerment. She argues that trauma results from the violation of an individual's fundamental rights and the failure of society to protect those rights. Trauma survivors often feel powerless, isolated, and alienated from their communities and institutions.

Herman argues that political movements can play a critical role in addressing these feelings of powerlessness and alienation. She cites examples of social movements, such as the civil rights movement and the feminist movement, that have empowered trauma survivors by providing them with a sense of community and collective action. These movements have helped survivors to articulate their experiences and demand social and political change.

Sources

Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence–from domestic abuse to political terror. Hachette uK.