I am continuing our study on Emotions to discover how and when a negative response to life’s circumstances might have taken root in our life. In order to find the root, we must look at our past influences and experiences from birth to adulthood to see how and when the door was opened for a negative emotional response to begin.

When I began this series, I listed 4 influences that weigh heavily on our responses to life’s circumstances. Take a look at Hannah’s illustration for a view of those 4 influences.

Last week, we took a look at Perception. Today, we are going to concentrate on A Traumatic Experience in our life. To do that, I am going to take you back to the headlines news on a day none of us will ever forget.

Attack on America

September 11, 2001

Breaking News: Airplanes crash into The Twin Towers of The World Trade Center
Breaking News: A plane has crashed into The Pentagon
Breaking News: The World Trade Center has fallen to the ground
Breaking News: Airplane crashes in Pittsburgh

Americans watched in horror on TV as the events of that tragic day unfolded. It soon became clear that our country was being attacked by terrorists who had hijacked our own airplanes. Thousands of people lost their lives in a matter of minutes.

Then came the aftermath. Many Americans didn’t have to lose a love one in the attack to be directly affected. This tragic event was changing people’s lives all across the nation. Reactions to the event, being vented on TV and in the Newspapers, included:

• “I stay in my pajamas all day long, and I don’t leave the house.”
• “I don’t let my kids out of my sight.”
• “I live in fear that there will be more attacks.”
• “I keep my bags packed, ready to evacuate my house at any minute.”
• News reported that 7 out of every 10 Americans were experiencing severe depression.

The point to be made is this: A person may experience a traumatic event in their lives that totally reverses their usual way of responding. An emotional blow of this nature may occur at any time in life and blocks or reverses their emotional development.

You might not have been as deeply affected by the terrorism attack as some were, and that is o.k. Traumatic is whatever is traumatic for you. The list might include:

• abuse from a spouse
• tragic loss of parent or friend
• being ridiculed by a coach or teacher
• involvement with the wrong crowd at school

I shall never forget, Judy, a woman in one of my grieving classes a few years ago. She went home from church one night and discovered that her fifteen-year-old son had committed suicide while she was at church.

Trying desperately to cope with this tragic loss, Judy started going to counseling. Soon she was beginning to see some light at the end of the dark tunnel. And then suddenly, fear began to control her life. What was she in fear of? Losing her surviving son. If he wasn’t home at a certain time, she had fear attacks that something had also happened to him. “I don’t understand this. I have never been a fearful person, now it literally consumes me,” Judy said to her counselor.

Judy’s counselor was able to show her that a traumatic experience had totally reversed her normal way of responding at the time she lost her son. Once she saw that, she was able, with the help of her counselor, start managing her fear before in took root for the rest of her life.

And that, my friends, concludes this series of posts on Identifying the Root Causes of Emotional Responses. I learned a lot about myself as I studied this several years ago. I trust you have, too.

Join Hannah and me next week as we celebrate Easter with a message that I trust will touch your heart.