When we are completely overwhelmed, it feels like being caught in a storm where hailstones are punching down—so cold and uncomfortable. Being overwhelmed is like emotional hailstones that are the biggest and hit the hardest in our most valued areas. So, the arrest of a person from another country who is (or is not) documented and who may be our beloved housekeeper or gardener, is ever so painful—a huge emotional hailstone that crashes down upon our heart, soul. For many, witnessing a capture/arrest/deportation, even if it involves those we do not know, this can be traumatic and heartfelt to us. These are not abstract events. They rupture lives, and in doing so, they fracture something in many of us.

What to do?

It is always better not to numb out, a common trauma response where emotions feel too overwhelming and painful. Trauma can steal our feelings away, burying the pain beneath layers of detachment. Our bodies may ache and hurt, yet they learn to ignore the deeper emotional wounds. 

Helplessness and hopelessness are crushing weights. And panic is the relentless twin of trauma, lingering to hijack our attention, shatter concentration, and even steal the rhythm of breath. It can feel as if the trauma itself presses its hands around your throat, strangling hope and action in one vicious squeeze.