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PR professionals can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of trauma and grief through job exposure, said licensed psychologist Dr. Janelle McNeal during a May 20
webinar hosted by the PRSA East Central District.

Between 50 and 90% of adults will experience at least one traumatic event in their life, Dr. McNeal said during “The Message Must Go On: Showing Up at Work Through Life’s
Hard Moments.” PTSD, which she described as trauma that hasn’t been processed well, has a lower prevalence rate: 6 to 8% of people will have PTSD at some point in their life. At her practice True North Counseling & Development in Lexington, Kentucky, she also sees work, family, finances and health often pop up as creating areas of stress or anxiety.

PR professionals are frequently on the front lines of experiencing crisis, leaving them vulnerable, she pointed out. They’re exposed to it through crisis events, monitoring crisis through media, reporting on crisis to others in or outside their company and potentially becoming the face of the company in a crisis situation.

And while a crisis unfolds, the PR pro has the pressure to respond immediately, calmly and composed, despite what they and those around them are experiencing. There also can be the added layer of managing the reputation of their company during the crisis event, with the pressure to represent the company well. She also described “emotional labor,” dealing with someone going through a crisis situation, supporting them and having compassion while also having to perform professional duties. Finally, she described vicarious trauma, not directly experiencing trauma directly but being affected by being so close to it – which can even affect someone later in life.

Trauma symptoms include:
 Intrusive memories or thoughts
 Avoidance of things (changing subject)
 Difficulty concentrating (feeling foggy, not able to think how I used to; hard time finding words, not being able to focus)
 Hypervigilance (gone through something and then are overly-alert)
 Sleep disturbance
 Irritability

PTSD symptoms include:
 Avoidance
 Hyperarousal (startled easily)
 Trauma and grief symptoms persisting for a month or longer (could be years)

Grief symptoms include:
 Sadness
 Emotional pain
 Difficulty concentrating
 Feeling tired, exhausted or worn out, taking everything it can to get through the day
 Withdrawal from people
 Changes in appetite or sleep

She said that some people may not ever get over grief. In those instances, the goal is to incorporate it into your life so it is manageable and not taking over your life.

How Trauma Grief and PTSD show up at work
 Trouble concentrating or memory issues (short-term memory; not remembering simple things like a phone number)
 Burnout – emotional exhaustion, feeling flat or like you’ve been run over
 Absenteeism
 Difficulty meeting deadlines (especially when you were the person everyone relied on)
 Interpersonal conflict and withdrawal (it’s hard to be nice, kind, patient if hurting)
 Difficult to achieve creativity, good ideas
 Increased risk of substance abuse or misuse, anxiety, depression

If someone is going through a difficult time, Dr. McNeal said taking some time off to give our bodies, minds and psyches time to replenish, can often result in returning to work replenished.

She also recommends letting at least one person at work know if you’re dealing with grief or a traumatic event. If you *can,* talk to a supervisor, specifically letting them know if you would like them to hold it in confidence. A compassionate supervisor can help managing priorities – especially if you request assistance. She said if you are a supervisor, be the person who will bring these things with you, to create a positive work environment.

The number one thing anyone can do to support a colleague, family member or friend dealing with trauma or grief: let them know you care, she said. Let them know that you appreciate them trusting you to share their grief or trauma. Dr. McNeal said you don’t need to fix the person’s problems; . often just being heard Often people just need to be heard and knowing that people care about what they’re going through—sharing “I’m sorry that’s happening. Thank you for sharing this. I care about you.” – can help someone coping with grief or trauma.

Finally, we all can choose to have a better relationship with our emotions, Dr. McNeal said. Using the analogy of small children, she said we should accept that they’ve come to visit (sadness, frustration, grief, excitement), maybe even appreciate them, have more patience with them and find ways to nurture ourselves so the uncomfortable feelings will naturally dissipate.

If things get to be too much:
 Get counseling – if trauma or grief is diminishing your quality of life
 Seek emergency mental health if you experience thoughts of killing yourself or someone else. Call 911 or 988
 National Domestic Violence Hotline: text START to 88788