Frame the narrative around resilience and agency rather than just suffering.
However, research in behavioral psychology suggests that excessive fear often leads to denial or dissociation. When a problem feels too catastrophic, the brain shuts down. Furthermore, these campaigns frequently made one critical error: they dehumanized the victims. The sufferer became a cautionary prop, not a person.
The worst campaigns reduce survivors to a “before and after” photo—a victim transformed into a hero. The best campaigns allow survivors to be complex, messy, and still in progress.
Frame the narrative around resilience and agency rather than just suffering.
However, research in behavioral psychology suggests that excessive fear often leads to denial or dissociation. When a problem feels too catastrophic, the brain shuts down. Furthermore, these campaigns frequently made one critical error: they dehumanized the victims. The sufferer became a cautionary prop, not a person.
The worst campaigns reduce survivors to a “before and after” photo—a victim transformed into a hero. The best campaigns allow survivors to be complex, messy, and still in progress.
