Crisis When the System Fails

How the SNAP Suspension Crisis Can Reactivate Past Trauma

You read the headline: "SNAP Benefits Suspended."

A rational mind might feel anger, fear, or a sense of injustice. But you... you are feeling something far more visceral. You are feeling a 10-out-of-10, world-ending panic. Your heart is hammering, your throat is tight, and you feel a wave of despair so profound it's dizzying. It's not just a worry. It is terror. You look at your pantry and you don't just see a dwindling supply of food—you know a lack of safety, a sign that you have failed, a terrifying, absolute certainty that your entire life is about to fall apart.

If your emotional reaction to this news feels disproportionately massive, if this systemic failure feels like a personal and immediate catastrophe, I want you to hear this: You are not crazy. Your reaction is not "too big." It is a memory.

Your body is not just reacting to the news headline. It is reacting to a wound from your past. What you are experiencing is a trauma response. The current, real-world crisis is simply the trigger for a much older, deeper pain.

The Science: How Systemic Failure Becomes a Personal Trigger

To understand why this is happening, you have to understand what trauma really is. Trauma is not just the bad thing that happened to you; it is the way your body and your nervous system store the memory of that bad thing, and the change in your perception of personal safety in the world (van der Kolk, 2014). It is an unhealed injury, frozen in time.

A trauma trigger is any sensory input—a sight, a sound, a smell, a feeling—that your brain associates with the original, unresolved trauma (American Psychological Association, 2013). When your brain encounters a trigger, it cannot distinguish between past danger and the present moment. It believes the original, life-threatening event is happening right now, and it launches the exact same, full-blown survival response (van der Kolk, 2014).

For someone who grew up with poverty, neglect, or any form of deep instability, the concept of systemic failure is a powerful trauma trigger.

These aren't just "stressors." They are sensory and existential flashbacks.

• The empty pantry.

• The declined debit card.

• The feeling of physical hunger.

• The headline on the news confirms that the safety net is gone.

Your conscious brain knows you are an adult. But the traumatized part of your brain thinks you are a helpless child, terrified, abandoned, and alone. This is why the panic feels so absolute.

This is especially potent for those with a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The landmark ACEs study found that childhood adversity, such as experiencing neglect or economic hardship, can permanently dysregulate your stress-response system (the HPA axis) (Felitti et al., 1998). This makes you hyper-vigilant to any and all threats of instability.

The SNAP suspension is not just a policy change; it is a national-level event that mirrors the childhood trauma of neglect—the feeling that the people who were supposed to care for you have abandoned you. This creates a brutal, self-perpetuating cycle: your past trauma makes you more vulnerable to present instability, and the present instability reactivates your past trauma (Poole et al., 2021).

The Action Plan: How to De-activate the Trauma Response

You cannot erase your past. But you can, with intention and practice, teach your body that it is safe in the present—even in the face of a real crisis. This is about taking radical responsibility for your own healing.

1. Acknowledge the Ghost in the Room: The moment you feel that wave of panic, that 10/10 reaction, you must pause and name what is happening.

• The Action: Stop and say, out loud if you have to: "This feeling is not just about the news. This is my trauma response. This is a memory. My fear is valid, but my panic is from the past. I am an adult now, and I am resourceful." This simple act of acknowledgment, as described by trauma experts, creates a sliver of space between you (the observer) and the overwhelming emotional response (van der Kolk, 2014).

2. Manually Bring Your Brain into the Present (Grounding): Your brain is stuck in a flashback. You must manually pull it back into the present. The fastest way to do this is by engaging your five senses.

• The Action: The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique. Look around the room and name:

  • 5 things you can see (The blue cup, the crack in the ceiling).

  • 4 things you can feel (The floor under your feet, the fabric of your jeans).

  • 3 things you can hear (The hum of the fridge, a car outside).

  • 2 things you can smell (The coffee on the counter, the soap on your hands).

  • 1 thing you can taste (The toothpaste from this morning, a sip of coffee).

• This isn't a cheesy mindfulness trick. This is a powerful, evidence-based technique that prompts your brain to engage with the immediate, sensory reality of the present, thereby short-circuiting the dissociative, past-based trauma response (Schauer & Elbert, 2010).

3. Build a Psychological Safety Net: The traumatized part of your brain isn't rational. It doesn't respond to logic; it responds to tangible evidence of safety. The system has failed, so you must build your own.

• The Action: Create a "Strategic Stash." Suppose your trauma history includes the experience of scarcity or poverty, especially food insecurity. In that case, you may find some comfort in creating a small stash of non-perishable, calorie-dense foods (such as protein bars, peanut butter, and canned goods) that you store in a designated box or bag, somewhere safe. This is not your regular pantry; this is your "break glass in case of emergency" stash, which you should not touch (except to refresh out-of-date foods). Knowing it's there acts as a powerful psychological safety net. It’s a physical, tangible promise to the traumatized part of your brain that you will never, ever be truly without.

4. Have the Courageous Conversation: If you live with a partner or family, your trauma response to this crisis can be a source of intense conflict. They might be in a state of logical "problem-solving," while you are in a state of emotional "panic."

• The Action: You must explain your trigger, but not during a moment of panic. Use our Courageous Conversations Workbook to plan a calm, non-accusatory conversation.

  • The Script: "I need to share something important with you. This news about SNAP is hitting me incredibly hard, and it's bringing up a lot of my past trauma around scarcity. I'm not just stressed; I'm feeling a deep sense of panic. It's not about you, and it's not a criticism of how you're handling it. It's my brain's old wiring. I need your patience, and it would be a huge act of support for me if we could work together on a concrete plan (like our emergency stash) as a safety net for my anxiety."

5. Activate Your Safety Local Net: The federal system is failing you. Your community is your next line of defense. Taking this step is not an act of defeat; it is an act of strategic, powerful self-preservation.

Arizona Food Resources: Your Toolkit

Do not wait until the shelves are empty. Use these resources today to build your plan. This is not "charity"; this is you leveraging the community support system that exists for this exact reason.

• Dial 2-1-1: This is the fastest way to connect with specific, local resources and food pantries nearest your zip code. You can also visit 211arizona.org.

• St. Mary's Food Bank: Serves most of Arizona, including Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pinal counties. Use their interactive "Find Food" map to locate a pantry or distribution site near you.

  • Website: stmarysfoodbank.org

  • Direct Food Finder: azfoodhelp.org

• United Food Bank: Serves the East Valley and Eastern Arizona (Apache, Gila, Maricopa, Navajo, and Pinal counties). They also have a "Find Food" locator.

  • Website: unitedfoodbank.org/findfood

• Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona: If you are in Tucson or one of the five surrounding counties (Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, or Santa Cruz), this is your primary resource.

  • Website: communityfoodbank.org/get-help

• The Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Provides hot meals and emergency food boxes at numerous dining rooms and pantries across the Valley.

  • Website: stvincentdepaul.net/get-help/meals-and-food-boxes

Your reaction to this crisis is not a weakness; it is a testament to what you have survived. The panic you feel is the echo of a younger you who was terrified and unprotected. Your job now is to be the strong, capable, and resourceful adult that younger you never had. You do that by acknowledging the wound, using your tools to stay in the present, and building a life so secure that the ghosts of the past finally, mercifully, lose their power.

References

• American Psychological Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).

• Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

• Lupien, S. J., McEwen, B. S., Gunnar, M. R., & Heim, C. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 434–445.

• Poole, M., Williams, R., & Williamson, R. (2021). The cycle of trauma: The relationship between childhood trauma, adult re-victimization and food insecurity. Child Abuse & Neglect, 117, 105151.

• Schauer, M., & Elbert, T. (2010). Dissociation and the "shut-down" response to trauma. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 1(1), 5642.

• van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.