The country's condition.

We are all well aware of the state of affairs in Pakistan. The cat is out of the bag, or should we say the cats have been out of several bags for decades, but we as a nation have never been more aware and attuned to what's happening in Pakistan. Be it the endless political drama, the financial doom, the demise of the justice system, and, unfortunately, the list goes on, we have hit rock bottom and, in our case, an abyss of hopelessness and despair.

What we are witnessing is the country sliding into anarchy. Unlike the widespread belief that one popular political leader is the rescuer this country needs, we need a miracle that can save Pakistan.

I want to highlight not what's happening in Pakistan, as we all know, but our attitude towards it. It's a collective trauma we are experiencing, accumulating over any personal trauma that we might be going through. So not only do we need to face our emotional difficulties and challenges, we, unfortunately, experience our country falling apart and impacting our lives. Inflation and its effect on our living standards isn't the only issue. The political unrest, witnessing the law of the jungle in today's age and time, and being unable to do anything other than social media posts are distressing and traumatic.

How do we process and cope with our challenges and this collective trauma we share with the rest of our nation? I noticed that my initial reaction was denying any negative news related to Pakistan. I avoided watching the news or engaging in a conversation relevant to what was unfolding. I would hold on to irrational hope and keep going with my life. Out of the three trauma responses of the nervous system, this was the flight mode, the avoidance of facing the conflict. Some of us have the fight mode; for example, people come to the streets to protest. And some go into freeze mode, going on in their lives like zombies and believing this is nothing.

We are traumatized by all that is unfolding in Pakistan, and how...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT