Trauma Triggers and Resilience: Reflecting on the Death of George Floyd and Its Impact on a Social Work Practitioner
Keywords:
post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), epidemic , pandemic, childhood trauma, George Floyd, police brutalityAbstract
This reflection centers on the wrongful demise of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, and how his death uncovered my memories of a childhood traumatic experience involving police officers in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay area. It begins by placing this incident within the context of three critical issues impacting 2020: social unrest resulting from the rash of deaths of African Americans at the hands of police officers, the sudden spread of COVID-19 (or coronavirus), and the controversy surrounding the presidential elections. The coverage of these events across social media produced symptoms of generalized anxiety for many Americans including me. It also gave rise to the presence of multiple triggers leading to the resurgence of my childhood traumas following George Floyd’s death. My traumatic childhood encounter is discussed in intricate detail and paralleled with the death of Mr. Floyd. Resilience and the recovery process are presented followed by strategies to eliminate racial injustice involving police in three key areas: public policy, programmatic initiatives, and policing practices. Finally, implications for future research direction are presented.
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