When Elmo from Sesame Street helps explain the benefits of a “Trauma-Dump”
Image by Jason Moyer-Unsplash
When Elmo—yes that Elmo from Sesame Street—recently asked everyone how they were doing on X, many folks took the opportunity to vent their emotional response to the state of the world. It was bittersweet to read what folks posted. Responses to his (can we refer to an imaginary muppet as a person-based pronoun?) post, delved into the psyche of society-at-large these days. “Trauma-dumping” was the best way to describe what Elmo got back from his innocent, off-the-cuff inquiry. So, what is trauma dumping, and are there positive effects? Trauma-dumping is a colloquial way to describe how we might communicate our inner turmoil, suffering, and pain. We dump and ventilate our feelings for catharsis—an attempt to relieve pain. There are many positive effects of such a dump. In the case of Elmo’s tweet, the responses formed a community, where celebrity and the hoi polloi, alike, spoke of their sadness, pain, loneliness, and anxieties. We live in a isolated, individualistic age, and finding common themes in others’ emotions can help us feel less alone, normalize any present-sadness, and pain.
The other reason why trauma dumping can be beneficial is that it helps us name and articulate what we might be feeling. Sometimes, our emotions are difficult to describe, and when we trauma-dump, we engage our awareness of what we might be experiencing. Instead of ignoring, pushing aside, or minimizing what we are feeling, we begin to recognize our feelings. When we recognize feelings of sadness and pain, we can then tend to them. We can share our feelings, gain support from our family and friends, and realize that we are cared for—that our emotions are not just something we carry by ourselves. Feeling heard, seen, and cared for are powerful results after a good trauma-dump session.
Where trauma dumping becomes more serious is when folks cannot come out of their intense sadness, pain, frustrations, etc. It is important to make sure that we are regularly reaching out, checking in with folks, and like Elmo, asking the people we love and care for (and even those we don’t know very well) how they are doing. And when we ask someone how they are doing—like Elmo—let’s provide a caring, empathic response. Let’s not just ask them how they are doing without being mindful to listen, pay attention, and offer care and support. And, how did Elmo respond to his check-in on the inter-webs? Well, he was terrific, stating “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that is important to ask a friend how they are doing," he wrote. "Elmo will check in again, soon friends!" And Elmo loves you!”