- Take immediate action to ensure your physical
safety and the safety of others. If it’s
possible, remove yourself from the event/scene
in order to avoid further traumatic exposure.
- Address your acute medical needs (e.g.,
If you’re having difficulty breathing,
experiencing chest pains or palpitations,
seek immediate medical attention).
- Find a safe place that offers shelter, water,
food and sanitation.
- Become aware of how the event is affecting
you (i.e., your feelings, thoughts, actions—and
your physical and spiritual reactions).
- Know that your reactions are normal responses
to an abnormal event. You are not “losing
it” or “going crazy.”
- Speak with your physician or healthcare
provider and make him/her aware of what has
happened to you.
- Be aware of how you’re holding-up
when there are children around you. Children
will take their cues from the adults around
them.
- Try to obtain information. Knowing the facts
about what has happened will help you to keep
functioning.
- If possible, surround yourself with family
and loved ones. Realize that the event is
likely affecting them, too.
- Tell your story. And, allow yourself to
feel. It’s okay—not to be okay
during a traumatic experience.
- You may experience a desire to withdraw
and isolate, causing a strain on significant
others. Resist the urge to shut down and retreat
into your own world.
- Traumatic stress may compromise your ability
to think clearly. If you find it difficult
to concentrate when someone is speaking to
you, focus on the specific words they are
saying—work to actively listen. Slow
down the conversation and try repeating what
you have just heard.
- Don’t make important decisions when
you’re feeling overwhelmed. Allow trusted
family members or friends to assist you with
necessary decision-making.
- If stress is causing you to react physically,
use controlled breathing techniques to stabilize
yourself. Take a slow deep breath by inhaling
through your nose, hold your breath for 5
seconds and then exhale through your mouth.
Upon exhalation, think the words “relax,”
“let go,” or “I’m
handling this.” Repeat this process
several times.
- Realize that repetitive thinking and sleep
difficulties are normal reactions. Don’t
fight the sleep difficulty. Try the following:
Eliminate caffeine for 4 hours prior to your
bedtime, create the best sleep environment
you can, consider taking a few moments before
turning out the lights to write down your
thoughts—thus emptying your mind.
- Give yourself permission to rest, relax
and engage in non-threatening activity. Read,
listen to music, consider taking a warm bath,
etc.
- Physical exercise may help to dissipate
the stress energy that has been generated
by your experience. Take a walk, ride a bike,
or swim.
- Create a journal. Writing about your experience
may help to expose yourself to painful thoughts
and feelings and, ultimately, enable you to
assimilate your experience.
- If you find that your experience is too
powerful, allow yourself the advantage of
professional and/or spiritual guidance, support
and education.
- Try to maintain your schedule. Traumatic
events will disrupt the sense of normalcy.
We are all creatures of habit. By maintaining
our routines, we can maintain a sense of control
at a time when circumstances may lead us to
feel a loss of control.
- Crises present opportunities. Cultivate
a mission and purpose. Seize the energy from
your experience and use it to propel you to
set realistic goals, make decisions and take
action.
To learn more
about Acute Traumatic Stress Management visit
www.ATSM.org.
Common Reactions Experienced
in the Face of Traumatic Exposure
Emotional
Responses during a traumatic
event may include shock, in which
the individual may present a highly
anxious, active response or perhaps
a seemingly stunned, emotionally-numb
response. He may describe feeling
as though he is “in a fog.”
He may exhibit denial, in which there
is an inability to acknowledge the
impact of the situation or perhaps,
that the situation has occurred. He
may evidence dissociation, in which
he may seem dazed and apathetic, and
he may express feelings of unreality.
Other frequently observed acute emotional
responses may include panic, fear,
intense feelings of aloneness, hopelessness,
helplessness, emptiness, uncertainty,
horror, terror, anger, hostility,
irritability, depression, grief and
feelings of guilt.
Cognitive
Responses to traumatic exposure
are often reflected in impaired concentration,
confusion, disorientation, difficulty
in making a decision, a short attention
span, suggestibility, vulnerability,
forgetfulness, self-blame, blaming
others, lowered self-efficacy, thoughts
of losing control, hypervigilance,
and perseverative thoughts of the
traumatic event. For example, upon
extrication of a survivor from an
automobile accident, he may cognitively
still “be in” the automobile
“playing the tape” of
the accident over and over in his
mind.
Behavioral
Responses in the face of
a traumatic event may include withdrawal,
“spacing-out,” non-communication,
changes in speech patterns, regressive
behaviors, erratic movements, impulsivity,
a reluctance to abandon property,
seemingly aimless walking, pacing,
an inability to sit still, an exaggerated
startle response and antisocial behaviors.
Physiological
Responses may include rapid
heart beat, elevated blood pressure,
difficulty breathing*, shock symptoms*,
chest pains*, cardiac palpitations*,
muscle tension and pains, fatigue,
fainting, flushed face, pale appearance,
chills, cold clammy skin, increased
sweating, thirst, dizziness, vertigo,
hyperventilation, headaches, grinding
of teeth, twitches and gastrointestinal
upset.
|
Dr. Mark Lerner
is a Clinical Psychologist and Traumatic
Stress Consultant who focuses on helping
people during and in the aftermath of traumatic
events. He is the President of the American
Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (www.aaets.org)
and the originator of the Acute Traumatic
Stress Management intervention model (www.atsm.org).
Dr. Lerner wrote and produced the newly
released audio book, Surviving and Thriving:
Living Through a Traumatic Experience (www.DrMarkLerner.com).
He is the Editor and Publisher of Trauma
Response, the Academy’s official publication,
and the author of five books. Dr. Lerner
consults regularly with individuals and
organizations—where he specializes
in the education, training and implementation
of Acute Traumatic Stress Management and
the development of organizational crisis
management teams. Dr. Lerner has conducted
numerous interviews, including CNN Headline
News, the Los Angeles Times, the Palm Beach
Post, Newsweek, Self Magazine, Stars &
Stripes, Reuters, the Associated Press and
U.S. News & World Report. Most recently,
he appeared on Your Morning on CN8, CNN
and Dateline NBC. Dr. Lerner lives in New
York with his wife and three children.
Go to www.DrMarkLerner.com
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