Enter Label: Trumps PTSD is our PTSD
an autonomic note about Butler PA from the healingvrse
Dear Companions,
Welcome to the cast of Real Housewives of AI, where every matter is polarized, stretched by the algorithm, and polished off with a red pill. The events and their chain of reactions this week were unbelievable, but what struck me most was the brevity of time—the split-second near assassination of the ex-President, broadcast live, was only rivaled by the fleeting moments the audience spent reflecting on it afterward. I do not intend to be a political pundit of any kind, but simply to observe and communicate my perspective on the autonomic pulse coursing through society as it experiences these unparalleled events.
Chaos State of Mind
The election is beginning to be feeling like the Fyre festival, and I showed up weeks ago with no provisions. On the eve of July 13th, I stayed up investigating “sloped” roofs—no clue as to why Musk had to point out the cyber trucks have slopes—parsing through footage of the 20 minutes to 86 seconds prior, fixating on fumbled secret service guns, and so on.
This was the wrong week to start O’Neill’s Chaos about the CIA/LAPD coverup of the Manson murders. He started researching his 20-year opus at the age of 40 after a pernicious hangover. Chaos had me feeling like everything is a conspiracy, so I needed to process not only the event but also its shadow conspiracy theory. In this environment, there is time to do neither. After just a few minutes, everyone was at the next step.
Dispatch from the Healingvrse
Is it a good thing for society that the ex-president gets shot at, and one person dies in the most tragic of fashion, lying across his daughter’s body, and half of us are out here celebrating how hard-core Trump is for not changing his schedule and the other half vocally wish the shooter didn't miss?
Probably not.
Trump’s PTSD
Trauma is subjective and everyone perceives an event, and it's meaning a little differently. But in this case, I would hazard a guess that Trump is suffering from PTSD given the proximity of a bullet within millimeters of his brain, captured by a camera with a shutter speed of 1/8,000th of a second. So how good is it for Trump’s ever-shrinking prefrontal cortex to just pop up on stage at the RNC afterward?
fight v fawn
His autonomic system experienced a raging adrenal dump, cortisol through the roof. The fist pump was his limbic system re-enacting the final scene in movie Breakfast Club. We know it was of the fight variety, which involves confronting the threat. People exhibiting this response may appear brave, standing their ground, or taking assertive actions during traumatic situations. But I saw a bit of the fawn kind too. He was people pleasing to the cameras and crowd.
Studies suggest that approximately 10-20% of people may exhibit resilient or brave responses under severe stress or trauma, characterized by taking action, helping others, or maintaining composure in dire situations.
Hero journey activated. Now let’s assess his reaction later in the night, or the week.
The Frye Festival Goes On
The hours after a traumatic event, individuals may experience a range of emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses. Shock, sadness, confusion, intrusive thoughts, avoidance, changes in sleep patterns, and so on.
Upon learning someone was shot and killed and lay bleeding out behind his pumping fist, was it a good idea to boast about still going to the UFC game? Or to skip the victim’s funeral, rather than attending even if remotely somehow. At the RNC, the audience just started chanting Corey, Corey, Corey, proving incapable of actually maintaining a moment of silence.
Similarly to the way we stepped over the graves of the lives of the million we lost in the pandemic to get back to work, there was no deference paid. I love the defiant American spirit, but has it gone haywire?
The Just Dance Vance announcement in the immediate aftermath can best be described by this Republican strategist:
“You come within inches of having your head turned inside-out, and two days later the guy you pick for the job of being alive in the event you are dead is the millennial freshman who has exactly one election and two years in the Senate under his belt? Normal people are going to think that’s idiotic.”
If there was ever a moment to pause and at least pretend to unify people, this was it—the absolute, inexorable higher ground that no money can buy.
Sam Harris 14 min reply
For anybody who thinks it’s better that Trump would’ve been killed…you are completely delusional if you think blowing his head off on TV would have resulted in something good in society. Our entire society dodged a bullet….
[But] a normal republican would seek to lead our country back to safety, he would emphasize not his personal magnificence, the heroic sacrifices he has made for his supporters, or the vengeance he will soon unrelease on his enemies, but the necessity for calm, he would assert his confidence in the strength of our democracy and the integrity of our electoral process, and the peaceful transference of power…
The New Science of PTSD
The Frye-festival-must-go-on mentality is incompatible with the actual brain. The National Center for PTSD mentions that while some people recover within 6-12 months, others may take much longer, especially if they have experienced multiple traumas or have co-occurring mental health issues. The reality is that in a life-threatening situation, the brain can actually change. For years to come, the sufferer of the experience may be unable to distinguish non-threatening situations that remind them of the trauma. It may take time to see what the impact of this event on Trump actually was.
positive potential
New research show that PTSD can actually create positive change contrary to popular belief. 43 percent say afterward that life changed for the better. Maslow studied the life stories of some of the highest achievers Albert Einstein Frederick Douglass, Eleanor Roosevelt, and said that the most important learning experiences were often the tragedies and traumas that force people to take a new perspective on life.
Perhaps Trump will be infused with gratitude, a love of humanity, a deeper meaning, a growth that only such an experience can create at his age. If you are interested in the circumstances which can lead someone to have a positive shift after a traumatic event, check out Upside, the new science of post traumatic growth. This book had a tremendous impact on me.
For one thing, faith has been proven to be instrumental to a positive transformation after trauma. Also actively looking for the positive differentiates those who grow from trauma. Trump repeatedly stated that he believed his survival was providential, but likely Trump will only see the positive if he wins.
Reality Check
While Trump’s speech at the RNC hinted that some things might have changed, most, unfortunately, did not. The mix came off strange.
He began his address more contrite than usual, but many parts devolved into his typical hyperbolic stump speech, albeit in a more subdued tone. He repeatedly said, "I’m not supposed to be here," but also made strange remarks about the Butler rally crowd holding their ground to protect him. At one point, he approached the victim Corey Comperatore’s firefighter suit and kissed his helmet. This display was macabre.
Maybe I was looking for it, but the attempt at connection seemed awkward, like he was stuffing the bombast of his persona into a different cloth, emitting unconscious, peculiar actions.
What seemed like humility may have just been low energy. Yet he also gave the longest speech in RNC history—over 90 minutes—as though there were something else bothering him. Still, in all that time, we only got a few words dedicated to unity.
Someone should advise him that those who are grateful will develop less depression or anxiety.
Ladybugs
I imagined Trump’s leaked call to RFK is what it would sound like if he talked to a therapist. In it, Trump provides brief reflection, a desire to gloat or be hugged:
"“I just turned my head to show the [immigration] chart, and something rapped me. It felt like a giant… it felt like the world's largest mosquito.”
“It was a, what do they call that, an AR-15 or something — that's a big gun.”
RFK was silent in the clip. I’d like to share his love of ladybugs.
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Our PTSD
To be honest I was alone those few days so I’m not the best gauge on how people are feeling. My family chat had predicted this as the Soviet playbook (referenced also by Alexander in this post) and was relatively quiet.
I got yelled at on Instagram by someone I knew in college for posting something by Tim Pool. That made me anxious. But when I ran into a good friend the next day, we didn’t talk about it at all.
It came up at my neurologist’s office when I was crying from a flare of pain while getting zapped. He smiled benevolently and told me I should be tuning all this out.
This cross between anger and overwhelm disguised as apathy is concerning, as always. Sure, people hate Trump, but his PTSD could have a huge impact on his time, if in office.
I’m curious how this is impacted YOUR nervous system, if you could kindly share in the comments.
Jody says hi…
To close out, Jody Wogan tried to find sorting funny that a comedian may have posted on the matter but came up short so instead she gave me this hilarious clip of Shane Gillis making fun of the Gary V hustle mentality. That’s fitting here too.
With much love from the Healingvrse,
Rebecca
Very interesting point of view. Keep writing!
Awesome job with this!