Catastrophic events

Living through a pandemic or public health crisis

Living through a pandemic or widespread public health crisis in a way that caused significant harm. Losing people. Being isolated for extended periods. Working on the front lines of a health crisis. Having your life fundamentally disrupted or reorganized by something invisible and collective.

If some version of this is part of your story, you already know that the hardest part is rarely the memory itself. It is carrying it in a world that mostly does not want to hear about it. This fellowship exists so you do not have to carry it alone, and so you never have to explain it to someone who has no idea what it means.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

Hypervigilance or always waiting for something bad The nervous system that learned to scan for danger all the time. Flashbacks and reliving what happened After certain experiences, the brain can get stuck, replaying what happened through flashbacks, nightmares, or sudden intense reactions to things that remind you of it. Chronic pain no one can fully explain Pain that has been investigated and treated and remains. Emotional numbness Not depression exactly. Grief that is stuck and will not let you move Grief that did not follow the expected path. Brain fog, memory gaps, or trouble concentrating Trauma affects the brain in measurable ways. Loss of faith or not knowing what to believe anymore Something happened and the belief system that held your world together stopped holding. Stomach and gut problems from stress The gut and the nervous system are deeply connected.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

Find a meeting Join the fellowship

Need support right now?

Related experiences we cover

See everything we cover