The recent terrorist attacks, killings of black men and shootings of police can take an emotional toll. Here are ways to cope in the aftermath of a shooting from the American Psychological Association.
Talk about it. Ask for support from people who care about you and who will listen to your concerns. Receiving support and care can be comforting and reassuring.
Strive for balance. When a tragedy occurs, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and develop a negative or pessimistic outlook. Balance that viewpoint by reminding yourself of people and events that are meaningful, comforting and encouraging.
Turn it off and take a break. You may want to stay informed about current events, but try to limit the amount of news you take in, whether it's from the Internet, television, newspapers or magazines. While getting the news informs you, being overexposed to it can actually increase stress. The images can be very powerful in reawakening your feelings of distress. Also, schedule some breaks to distract yourself from thinking about the incident, and focus instead on something you enjoy. Try to do something that will lift your spirits.
Honor your feelings. Remember that it's common to have a range of emotions after a traumatic incident. You may experience intense stress similar to the effects of a physical injury.
Take care of yourself. Routinely practice healthy behaviors to increase your ability to handle excessive stress. Eat well-balanced meals, get plenty of rest and build physical activity into your day. Avoid alcohol and drugs because they can suppress your feelings rather than help you to manage and lessen your distress. In addition, alcohol and drugs may intensify your emotional or physical pain. Establish or re-establish routines, such as eating meals at regular times and following an exercise program. If you are having trouble sleeping, try some relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation or yoga.
Help others or do something productive. Locate resources in your community that allow you to help people who have been affected by tragic incidents, or have other needs. Helping someone else often has the benefit of making you feel better, too.
Take time to grieve. If you have recently lost friends or family in this or other tragedies, remember that grief is a long process. Give yourself time to experience your feelings and to recover. For some, this might involve staying at home; for others it may mean getting back to your daily routine.
Find professional help. Using the tips and strategies mentioned above may be sufficient to get through the current crisis. At times, however, a person can have difficulty managing intense reactions. A licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist, can assist in developing an appropriate strategy for you to move forward.
Source: American Psychological Association
Police officers kill black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Five Dallas police officers are killed by a lone gunman.
An attempted coup in Turkey and terrorist attacks in Nice, France.
He was leaving an early church service Sunday when an alert flashed on his smartphone that three police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge.
It’s become almost too much to bear.
“You have to worry about ISIS, police killing black folks, people killing the police, blacks killing blacks. At this stage I just want to stay home,” said David Delaney, a 65-year-old retired trucker who lives in DeKalb County. “In my mind, I have this morbid fear that a lot more of the same thing is going to happen after this election.”
He’s stopped watching CNN and other newscasts—at least for a while. That, though, doesn’t quell the anxiety. He worries about the safety of his two adult children. He dreads getting a phone call at 2 a.m.
Delaney’s palms start to sweat in big crowds. Then his army training kicks in. He listens and watches for any sudden movement or noise.
“It’s just fear,” he said. “How can you relax? You can’t. Nowhere is safe anymore.”
He’s on edge, and it’s not surprising.
It’s been weeks of bloodshed, pain, anger and frustration.
It’s a feeling that is not necessarily familiar in the United States. Perhaps not since Sept. 2011 have people been so on worried and fearful.
It’s an feeling most often experienced in faraway places that have undergone civil strife like Bosnia, Liberia and Iraq, where bombings and shootings became part of everyday life.
“The fear stemming from these acts causes a fair amount of second guessing which puts everyone on edge,” said Martha Henson, executive director of The ArtReach Foundation, which uses art and music therapy to help children who have experienced traumatic effects of war, violence and natural disasters around the world. “In the U.S. we have been sheltered from the violence that many countries experience on an ongoing daily basis. Now we are seeing it here at home, and we are not used it.”
After the attack in Nice, which killed 84 people, more than 500 others in that city sought counseling, according to CNN.
"You can't watch what happened in Dallas (and Baton Rouge) without being traumatized by it," said pastoral counselor Kerry Duncan. "We can assimilate only so much bad news without becoming despondent."
A counselor since 1981, Duncan sees a group of clients these days who, black or white, find their nerves on edge. His role: to serve as a metaphorical, emotional airbag, to absorb the impact, and help his clients at Snellville’s Covenant Counseling Family Resource Center decompress.
The trauma has ricocheted through his own emotions.
Duncan, 52, who is trained as a Presbyterian minister, has a daughter in Baton Rouge and a potential son-in-law who is a deputy sheriff in Baton Rouge.
Dr. Dwight Owens said his phone has been ringing nonstop for the last month. Patients who stopped coming for treatment now want to come back. New patients are trying to book appointments.
And it’s not just emotional. Stress can manifest itself physically.
“The internal aspect of anxiety can be overwhelming,” he said. People might suffer from insomnia, headaches, chest pains and have problems focusing. He has clients who are veterans, and these recent events have increased their stress anxiety levels.
“It used to be that you had to experience traumatic events,” he said. “Now you can simply observe the trauma and meet one of the criteria required for PTSD.”
With the quick turn violent events, people have had less time to process each of the previous traumas. "There's no down time," he said. "People are becoming more hyper-vigilant daily, including myself."
The response can be spiritual as well.
Atlanta psychotherapist Joyce Irons said she knows of people who now pray before checking the news. She advises people to communicate and take time to relax. She suggests inviting friends or relatives to dinner but making certain topics, like the recent shootings and attacks, off limits.
If you need professional help, get it.
For Kendrick Lowe, who works in law enforcement, it boils down to his faith.
He straddles both worlds as a state police officer as well as being an African-American man.
“We believe that God is in total control,” he said. “I don’t know where else to turn right now but my faith.”
Staffer Bo Emerson contributed to this report
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