Can helping others heal your soul?
Some individuals endure chronic depression and prolonged misery, while others exhibit greater resilience, allowing them to process and cope with trauma more effectively
Published: 04:12 PM,Dec 07,2024 | EDITED : 08:12 PM,Dec 07,2024
The movie 'The Intimate Storm' tells the real-life story of Pam, a 53-year-old rescue volunteer in the mountains. While on a mission, she accidentally falls into a small ditch but manages to climb out and continues walking in the snow.
Shortly after, she sees a young man nearly freezing to death and rescues him after spending the night in freezing weather conditions. I watched this movie while covered in a blanket, with a mug of hot chocolate in my hand. It was a cold night in Muscat, although nowhere near as cold as depicted in the movie.
As I watched, I had one question in mind: What motivates her to leave the comfort of her house to walk in freezing mountains, risking her life? The movie explains that Pam lost her young children in a gas leak accident. Volunteering as a mountain rescuer becomes her way of honouring her children’s memory while finding a sense of purpose amidst unbearable sorrow.
At the end of the movie, Pam meets the man she rescued, who explains that his girlfriend had died in the same mountains. He had returned there in a desperate attempt to hold onto her memory, fearing he was forgetting what she looked like.
As I watched this movie, I was reminded of the statement, “Loss connects us all, but how we respond to it defines us.”
Human beings experience various types of traumas and respond to them differently. While some endure chronic depression and misery, others exhibit resilience and process their trauma better. People who survive a particular trauma can use their experience to help others, often doing something extraordinary and contributing to the well-being of others.
Survivors can understand emotions that others may not fully appreciate. They are more likely to relate to others and show compassion, particularly when dealing with fellow survivors. Trauma survivors often hope that the person or situation causing the trauma will not prevail. Turning pain into something positive helps them feel that the trauma and its causes have not won.
This is why recovered alcoholics sometimes train to become addiction counsellors, helping others deal with their struggles. Trauma survivors can explore career paths such as nursing, social work, law, non-profit entrepreneurship, writing, first response, and counselling, all of which help people in traumatic situations.
Even if one does not pursue helping others as a profession, they can still participate by donating time, fundraising, raising awareness, or simply reaching out to others.
Let us remember that the human spirit can endure hardship and emerge stronger, finding purpose even in the face of unbearable sorrow.
Shortly after, she sees a young man nearly freezing to death and rescues him after spending the night in freezing weather conditions. I watched this movie while covered in a blanket, with a mug of hot chocolate in my hand. It was a cold night in Muscat, although nowhere near as cold as depicted in the movie.
As I watched, I had one question in mind: What motivates her to leave the comfort of her house to walk in freezing mountains, risking her life? The movie explains that Pam lost her young children in a gas leak accident. Volunteering as a mountain rescuer becomes her way of honouring her children’s memory while finding a sense of purpose amidst unbearable sorrow.
At the end of the movie, Pam meets the man she rescued, who explains that his girlfriend had died in the same mountains. He had returned there in a desperate attempt to hold onto her memory, fearing he was forgetting what she looked like.
As I watched this movie, I was reminded of the statement, “Loss connects us all, but how we respond to it defines us.”
Human beings experience various types of traumas and respond to them differently. While some endure chronic depression and misery, others exhibit resilience and process their trauma better. People who survive a particular trauma can use their experience to help others, often doing something extraordinary and contributing to the well-being of others.
Survivors can understand emotions that others may not fully appreciate. They are more likely to relate to others and show compassion, particularly when dealing with fellow survivors. Trauma survivors often hope that the person or situation causing the trauma will not prevail. Turning pain into something positive helps them feel that the trauma and its causes have not won.
This is why recovered alcoholics sometimes train to become addiction counsellors, helping others deal with their struggles. Trauma survivors can explore career paths such as nursing, social work, law, non-profit entrepreneurship, writing, first response, and counselling, all of which help people in traumatic situations.
Even if one does not pursue helping others as a profession, they can still participate by donating time, fundraising, raising awareness, or simply reaching out to others.
Let us remember that the human spirit can endure hardship and emerge stronger, finding purpose even in the face of unbearable sorrow.