Coping With Tragedy
The recent incidents of terrorism have shocked, saddened and angered the nation, and left many people—both those directly and indirectly affected—wondering how to deal with the aftermath of such tragic events. This digest offers tips and information on taking care of yourself, helping others cope and talking to your children about violence.
Reactions to a Traumatic Event
Disasters such as the terrorist attacks that occurred today can result in extreme emotions including stress, helplessness, fear, irritability, anger, depression and grief. Although everyone deals with trauma and stress differently, there are some common reactions, including:
· Recurring thoughts or nightmares about the event
· Difficulty sleeping or changes in appetite
· Anxiety and fear, especially when exposed to events or situations reminiscent of the trauma
· Feelings of depression, sadness and having low energy
· Memory problems including difficulty remembering aspects of the trauma
· Difficulty focusing on work or daily activities
· Spontaneous crying, feelings of despair and/or hopelessness
· Avoiding activities, places or even people who remind you of the event
· Feeling emotionally “numb,” withdrawn, disconnected or different from others
· Feeling extremely protective of, or fearful for, the safety of loved ones
If you or a loved one are experiencing extreme symptoms of stress, depression, grief or anger, consult a professional such as your doctor or Employee Assistance Program (EAP) immediately for help (Magellan LifeResources can be reached at 866/266-2376).
Additionally, many temporary shelters offer free counseling services to victims—or referrals to professionals who can provide further assistance. In addition, consider the following tips:
· Reach out to supportive friends and family for comfort and guidance.
· Be patient and give yourself plenty of time to recover and rest.
· Try to maintain a nutritious diet to keep your energy up.
· Focus on your breathing—deep, slow breaths will help calm you.
Keep in mind that emotional and physical reactions to a traumatic event may not appear immediately. Sometimes they may appear hours, days or even weeks or months after the event. The signs and symptoms of a stress reaction may last a few days, a few weeks, months or possibly longer depending on the severity of the event. According to the American Psychological Association, individuals who are unable to regain control of their lives, or who experience the symptoms above for more than a month, should consider seeking professional mental health assistance.
How Children React to Trauma
How a child responds to a tragic event will vary depending on a child’s age, personality and maturity level—and how directly he or she was involved with the tragedy.
PTSD occurs after experiencing traumatic events and prolonged periods of emotional distress. A traumatic event is something that a person experiences that causes them to feel like their lives, or the lives of others, are in immediate danger. If after traumatic events such feelings of fear or complete loss of control do not subside and cause disruptions in a person's everyday life PTSD may occur. Such traumatic events may include: Combat in a war zone, sexual or physical abuse or assault, major accidents, or natural disasters. There are four main symptoms used to identify PTSD: Reliving the traumatic event, which can include nightmares and flashbacks. Avoiding people or situations that could remind one of the event. Negative changes in a persons thoughts or feelings, such as fear, guilt, shame or loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. Lastly, hyperarousal, feeling jittery, alert and on the look for danger along with trouble sleeping or focusing. (National Center For PTSD). People suffering from Ptsd may also encounter problems with depression and anxiety along with relationship problems, physical symptoms, and drug and alcohol problems.
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss. Although primarily focused on the emotional reaction to loss, it also carries a physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical connotation. Doctor Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the idea of the stages of grief in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. Although it has received much criticism since then, the Kübler-Ross model remains to be the most widely accepted model of grief today. However, as most psychological research conducted in the 20th century was based on people living in the North America and Western Europe, the Kübler-Ross model could be culturally biased. In the Laws of Absence, Ahmed El-Madini introduces the readers to grief and mourning in the Islamic culture. Through this journey with the narrator, the readers realize that despite cultural and chronological differences, human nature is essentially the same in regards to coming to terms with loss.
It is important to understand when discussing this topic what exactly Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is, and how one obtains it. When someone has PTSD, their sense of fear and stress are tampered with; even when not in danger, the person with the disorder may feel as though they are. It is as if the victims are suffering from delayed trauma. Several risk factors can lead to this: experiences with dangerous events/traumas, history of mental illness, physical pain, witnessing the injuries/deaths of others, feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear, little to no support after the trigger event, experiencing extra stress after the event...
or any issues with her urine production. Mrs. L stated that she does not urinate excessively and that she has never noticed an extreme change in color of her urine. A urinary tract infection or yeast infection is not something that Mrs. L said she has experienced in the past. Mrs. L stated that she is not currently sexually active because of her age and it is more difficult than it used to be. She has never had any sexually transmitted infections or other issues with her genital health. Mrs. L stated that she does have arthritis in her feet and hips. She has never had a muscle tear or tore a ligament or tendon. Mrs. L also said that she has never had any issues with her ACL. Her back surgeries are the only things Mrs. L stated that have been
Breavement is handeled differently in different generations. Weather it is a kid that has a terminal illness or an elderly person who is diagnosed with a terminal illness, each breave differently. Breavement deals with not just someone clsoe dying but, someone themselvs who is diagnosed with a life threatening illness.
The book, A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis, (1961), was written from his journal he kept after the death Lewis’s wife, Joy Davidman in 1960. Lewis was a bachelor for almost 58 years before he married Joy Davidman Greshman in March of 1959. His wife had been diagnosed with cancer before he met her, however, they fell in love and spent their short time together before cancer took her life in 1960. A Grief Observed is C. S. Lewis’s chronicles of his personal observations and struggles that Lewis went through with the loss of his beloved wife. Below are some questions for added discussion and thought about the book.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
For some, coping with death is the end of a journey, but to others, it is the beginning of change. The novel, The Hero's Walk, explores the meaning of this statement through the death of Maya. Because of her death, the people who are close to her, such as her father, Sripathi, begin to suffer. However, he eventually experiences a positive change after coping with her death. In Anita Rau Badami's novel, The Hero's Walk, Maya's death is a major turning point which affects the life of Sripathi; ultimately, this loss contributes to his major character development.
PTSD is a debilitating mental illness that occurs when someone is exposed to a traumatic, dangerous, frightening, or a possibly life-threating occurrence. “It is an anxiety disorder that can interfere with your relationships, your work, and your social life.” (Muscari, pp. 3-7) Trauma affects everyone in different ways. Everyone feels wide ranges of emotions after going through or witnessing a traumatic event, fear, sadness and depression, it can cause changes in your everyday life as in your sleep and eating patterns. Some people experience reoccurring thoughts and nightmares about the event.
children faced with the trauma of loss, they are also faced with a myriad of other
If needed, you can get a referral to a qualified mental health provider for treatment.
According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. Some terrible events that happen all too often are rape, natural disasters or an accident. Immediately following the event shock and denial are likely to occur, but in the long-term flashbacks, unpredictable emotions and troubled relationships can arise. Defining emotional trauma on a child. Emotional trauma in a child can be created by bullying, emotional abuse, death of loved ones, separation from parent, or chaos and dysfunction in the household. Child symptoms of trauma can be very similar to depression symptoms. They can over sleep or sleep to little, unexplained anger, trouble focusing, obsessive worrying and some anxiety. How a child experiences an event and how it’s handled by those around him have an effect on how traumatizing it can be, notes Dr. Jerry Bubrick (Child Mind Institute , 2017). People grieve at different speeds and the way the child grieves is not the correct indicator on how the child will cope later. Defining physical trauma on a child. Physical trauma on a child is considered non-accidental or the cause of physical injury. Some households that suffer from alcoholism/substance abuse and anger issues have higher occurrences of child abuse as compared to households without according to psychology today. Sometimes kids that are abused are unaware that they are being abused and are victims of child
The loss of someone close can be a very painful experience. When someone passes over to the other side, the people they leave behind are left grief-stricken. The process they go through is called bereavement or another word, people may use is called in mourning. This all depends on what beliefs the bereaved may have on dying. Different religions cope with mortality in different ways.
Trauma is a psychological reaction to sudden traumatic events and overwhelming issues from outside. Additionally, the exposure to activities that are outside the human’s normal experiences. Traumatic events become external and incorporate into the mind (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Traumatization happens when the internal and external forces do not appropriately cope with the external threat. Furthermore, trauma causes problems because the client’s mind and body react in a different way and their response to social groups. The symptoms of trauma relate to irritability, intrusive thoughts, panic and anxiety, dissociation and trance-like states, and self-injurious behaviors (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Childhood trauma happens when they live in fear for the lives of someone they love (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Judith Herman’s trauma theory states that the idea of repressed memories relates to unconscious behavior. These repressed behaviors include those inhibited behaviors relate to memories of childhood abuse. From McNally’s point of view memories of trauma cannot be repressed especially those that are more violent (Suleiman, 2008, p. 279). In addition, one of the theories used to dealing with trauma includes the coping theory. With situations, people tend to use problem-solving and emotion-focused coping. Emotion-focused coping happens when people are dealing with stressors. When the stressors become more
... event and tend to be emotionally numb” (Anxiety Disorders). PTSD leads to flashbacks and behavioral changes to try to avoid anything that might remind the affected individual of the traumatic experience.