When Violence Shakes Our Core: Understanding Collective Trauma and Moral Injury in an Age of Political Extremism

Collective trauma and moral injury occur when public violence violates our sense of justice, fairness, and safety. Learn how ideological violence impacts the nervous system, relationships, and public trust, and discover neuroscience-informed ways to restore resilience and connection.

When the World No Longer Feels Safe

What happens to our minds and bodies when we witness political assassinations, mass shootings, or public acts of ideological violence? Even if we are not physically present, the constant exposure to disturbing images and stories through news and social media can leave us shaken. This phenomenon, often referred to as collective trauma, goes beyond individual suffering and affects communities, nations, and cultures.

Paired with collective trauma is the concept of moral injury, the distress we feel when witnessing acts that violate deeply held beliefs about fairness, justice, and humanity. When we see public leaders assassinated, institutions shaken, or communities torn apart by violence, the nervous system reacts not only with fear but also with profound grief, disillusionment, and confusion about what the future holds.

What Is Collective Trauma?

Collective trauma describes the psychological wounds experienced by large groups of people following catastrophic or violent events. Unlike individual trauma, collective trauma extends beyond personal experience and becomes embedded in the shared psyche of a community or society.

Events such as political assassinations, terrorist attacks, or racially motivated violence are not just personal tragedies; they reverberate across communities, sparking fear, division, and despair. People begin asking:

     — How could this happen in our country?
     — What does this say about who we are becoming?
    — Can we trust our institutions to keep us safe?

These questions reflect not just fear, but a deeper existential wound to our sense of belonging and collective identity.

Understanding Moral Injury

While collective trauma speaks to the shared wound, moral injury captures the internal conflict many individuals feel when they witness violence that contradicts their values.

Traditionally studied in combat veterans, moral injury is now being recognized as a widespread phenomenon. When ideological violence erupts, whether a politically motivated assassination or an extremist attack, observers often feel powerless, betrayed, and disoriented.

Moral injury can manifest as:

     — A loss of trust in leaders, institutions, or even neighbors.
    — A sense of disillusionment with society.
     — Anger, shame, or guilt for being unable to prevent harm.
    — Emotional numbness or withdrawal from public life.

The nervous system, designed to protect us, interprets these events as a threat not just to survival but to meaning itself. Neuroscience shows that when core beliefs are shattered, the brain’s stress circuits (including the amygdala and hippocampus) activate repeatedly, leaving us hypervigilant and exhausted.

The Neuroscience of Violence in the Media

Why does watching violent news coverage leave us feeling so distressed, even if we were not there? Research suggests that the brain does not fully distinguish between direct experience and vividly portrayed events. Repeated exposure to graphic videos or divisive rhetoric activates the sympathetic nervous system, triggering fight-or-flight responses.

This leads to:

      — Hyperarousal: difficulty sleeping, increased irritability, constant scanning for danger.
     — Emotional numbing: shutting down feelings to cope with overwhelming input.
    — Disrupted connection: withdrawing from relationships out of mistrust or despair.

Collectively, these reactions mirror what trauma survivors experience. On a societal level, this can fuel polarization, fear, and cynicism, deepening divisions rather than fostering resilience.

How Moral Injury Impacts Relationships and Intimacy

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we frequently observe how public violence infiltrates private life. Clients who consume hours of political news or social media often report feeling emotionally distant from their partners, anxious in their parenting, or disconnected in intimacy.

When the nervous system is caught in cycles of threat response, it becomes difficult to:

     — Stay emotionally regulated in relationships.
     — Engage in physical closeness without fear or tension.
    — Maintain curiosity and empathy in the face of differences.

This is the hidden cost of collective trauma: not only are we shaken by events on the world stage, but our capacity for love, connection, and joy at home is quietly eroded.

National Conversations and Historical Parallels

The assassination of public figures triggers memories of earlier moments of political violence. From the 1960s assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy to more recent extremist attacks, these events have become cultural markers of disillusionment.

Today’s conversations often circle around questions such as:

     — Are we witnessing a new era of political extremism?
    — What does this mean for our democracy, our institutions, and our children’s future?
      — How can communities hold onto hope when violence dominates the headlines?

These national dialogues, while painful, are crucial. They represent a collective attempt to make meaning from tragedy and to resist the numbness that moral injury often creates.

Pathways to Healing Collective Trauma and Moral Injury

The question becomes: What can we do when violence shakes our collective trust? While we cannot prevent every act of extremism, we can strengthen our resilience and reclaim agency in how we respond.

1. Limit Media Exposure

Neuroscience shows that repeated viewing of violent content deepens traumatic imprinting. Choose intentional, limited news check-ins rather than constant scrolling.

2. Engage in Somatic Grounding

Practices like deep breathing, yoga, or mindfulness bring the nervous system back into balance. Somatic resourcing restores a sense of safety in the body, countering hyperarousal.

3. Create Safe Conversations

Talking with trusted people about feelings of betrayal, grief, or fear helps prevent isolation. Collective healing begins in dialogue.

4. Rebuild Trust in Small Circles

While national institutions may feel shaken, focus on strengthening bonds in your family, friendships, and community. Safety is rebuilt relationally.

5. Seek Professional Support

Therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Somatic Experiencing, and trauma-informed couples therapy can help resolve the nervous system’s stuck responses and repair intimacy ruptures.

How Embodied Wellness and Recovery Can Help

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we specialize in supporting individuals, couples, and families navigating trauma in all its forms, personal, relational, and collective. Our work integrates neuroscience, somatic therapy, and relational healing to help clients:

     — Repair nervous system dysregulation caused by chronic exposure to violence and fear.
    — Address moral injury by creating new pathways of meaning and connection.
    — Restore intimacy and trust within relationships strained by collective trauma.
    — Build resilience practices that empower individuals to engage with the world without becoming overwhelmed.

When ideological violence shakes your sense of safety, there are ways to re-anchor in your body, your values, and your relationships. Collective trauma may be inevitable in a world of political volatility, but how we metabolize it, and whether we grow more fragmented or more connected, remains within our power.

Reclaiming Meaning After Violence

Collective trauma and moral injury remind us that public violence is not just a political or social issue; it is a profoundly human wound. By understanding how these events impact our nervous systems, relationships, and trust in institutions, we can begin to address them with compassion and intention.

Healing is not about ignoring the pain but about transforming it into renewed purpose, deeper connection, and embodied resilience. In this process, we reclaim not only our personal well-being but also our role in shaping the kind of society we long to belong to.

Contact us today to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our team of somatic practitioners, trauma specialists, and relationship experts, and start your journey toward embodied connection and a felt sense of safety. 

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References

Litz, B. T., Stein, N., Delaney, E., Lebowitz, L., Nash, W. P., Silva, C., & Maguen, S. (2009). Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans: A preliminary model and intervention strategy. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(8), 695–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.07.003

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Schlenger, W. E., Caddell, J. M., Ebert, L., Jordan, B. K., Rourke, K. M., Wilson, D., ... & Kulka, R. A. (2002). Psychological reactions to terrorist attacks: Findings from the National Study of Americans’ Reactions to September 11. JAMA, 288(5), 581–588. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.5.581