A lot of people, including myself, are feeling “funky” of late. There’s a pervasive sense of uneasiness that’s common among so many people I talk to. I’ve been asking myself about it, and what’s become more clear to me is a stress related to feeling extremely vulnerable. Stress from vulnerability most often shows up as anxiety, feelings of helplessness, resentment, anger and withdrawal. Yup. That about sums it up. There’s a layering of vulnerabilities in our current environment that’s hard to put our finger on. It seems to be growing in all aspects of our lives and creates a sense of fear around every corner. If we aren’t worried about ourselves, we’re worried about other people, and we should be. The reality of the many ways in which we, or the people in our community, can be vulnerable is important to name, both to understand it, and to protect those most at risk.
When talking about vulnerability, I think it may be easier to think of it as lacking a sense of safety. Sometimes we feel unsafe because of our experiences in the past and sometimes we feel unsafe because of a threat we’re experiencing now or fear in the future. Regardless, when we, as people, feel unsafe, our emotional and physical well being is compromised. According to researcher Chris Drew, PhD, vulnerability refers to “the state of being exposed to the possibility of harm, whether it be physical, economic, environmental, emotional, or social. It can emerge from an individual’s inherent characteristics or from external situations and forces.” Often these factors run together and create an even more vulnerable situation, as a person may have inherent vulnerability characteristics, which then increases their vulnerability in other areas. As I describe five general types of vulnerability, think about how these may apply to you or people around you and how this awareness may be affecting you.
One type of vulnerability is physical vulnerability, which relates to conditions affecting your physical health and strength, like aging, disability, or chronic disease. Also included in physical vulnerability are less direct factors that may lead to being unsafe, such as lack of access to healthcare, proper nutrition, healthy drinking water, exercise, or an environment that causes sleep deprivation or exposes you to toxins or natural disaster threats. The interaction of these became more clear to me in working in a Health Center. Often, after a health crisis, people became very depressed. In exploring their feelings, it’s often a profound sense of physical vulnerability that was creating a deep sense of loss and anxiety.
Economic vulnerabilities refer to insecure financial situations which may happen when you lack job security, have debt, or are over-reliant on a single source of income. The absence of savings can create immense stress in worrying about unexpected costs. Other factors that can lead to economic vulnerability may include lack of access to credit, lack of financial literacy, or underemployment, where you’re working in a lower paying job than your skill level or work fewer hours than you need to. The economy has a lot to do with economic vulnerability, as recessions lead to job loss, lower wages, and lower income opportunities.
Another area of vulnerability is emotional vulnerability. This relates to feeling insecure and unsafe in relationships, often as a result of a history of trauma or relationships where you may have been taken advantage of. Vulnerability in this area may include difficulty setting boundaries, forming healthy attachments, being overly dependent on others or not able to form connections because of distrust or low self esteem. Often people who have low emotional intelligence misunderstand or are unable to identify their own needs and feelings or those of others. This leads to a lot of conflict and stress in work, personal, and familial relationships.
Some people experience environmental vulnerabilities. This refers to the susceptibility to threats from natural or man made disasters, such as fires, earthquakes, pollution, or hurricanes. It may also include a lack of emergency facilities or the ability to prepare. In addition, living near potential sites of pollution or toxic hazards may make one vulnerable. Housing shortages and a lack of resources in overpopulated or underpopulated areas may also put someone at risk.
Social vulnerability refers to social factors including discrimination, isolation, poverty and lack of community support that create risks. This can be a result of being a part of a marginalized group, experiencing language or cultural barriers, lack of educational opportunities, being cut off from family, or experiencing stigma from being perceived as different. A lack of mobility or transportation can be a huge barrier to job access or socialization opportunities, and living in high crime areas or in poverty can severely limit your access to resources and the availability of opportunities. Other social factors may include a lack of representation in political processes and a lack of access to social capital in terms of networking connections.
The resources we have access to actually make a big difference in how we can survive when bad things happen. In reviewing these types of vulnerabilities, there are risk factors and protective factors that are relevant to how vulnerable we are. Risk factors are attributes, characteristics, or exposures that increase the likelihood of being harmed or stressed. Protective factors are elements that reduce or shield a person from potential harm. The great truth is that we have control over some of these factors, but others, not much at all.
In reading through these five factors it’s so important to see how they’re interrelated. Becoming ill may mean losing your job, which may mean losing your healthcare and then potentially not being able to afford proper nutrition or housing. You may have to move and be separated from your community and social support systems. Or living in a rural area hit by a hurricane may mean losing your house, your business, and potentially not having access to resources for rebuilding. Being suspected of a crime may lead to not being able to afford bail, a proper lawyer, and losing your job. This may mean being pressured to take a plea deal that may hurt your chances of employment in the future. Or having a history of trauma may lead to anger issues, which may lead to conflict with your boss, which may lead to losing your job and not being able to pay your child support. Our lives are complex webs of interrelated connections and consequences. We all live in a house of cards, but some start out with weaker foundations to begin with.
This is where I get emotional. Some of the best protective factors that create and maintain resilience have to do with social connection and support. Having the feeling that someone cares and understands makes a huge difference to how we can rebound from hard circumstances. Having connections with others makes us feel important and worthy. It gives us access to more opportunities and possibly more resources. It gives our lives a sense of purpose and meaning. Having someone watch out for us and look out for us really matters both physically and emotionally. We are all vulnerable in some way. We survive by being there for one another.
I had started writing this blog post prior to Corey Booker’s Senate speech. I must say I was so inspired by it and it made me even more aware of how important it is that we not just watch out for one another, but speak up for one another. It made me more certain of how power can be used to help others, but also to hurt others. Living in fear is not freedom. Lack of due process is not democracy. Bullying and threatening is not governing. We are all vulnerable when we lose the checks and balances on power that guard our safety. We all become more vulnerable when we put our heads in the sand and hope we won’t be affected. Watching vulnerable people be mistreated is a threat to all of us. We all go through periods of vulnerability and strength. It’s up to the people who are currently strong to speak out for those who are currently vulnerable. This is the only way we create true safety.