Stress and a humanitarian career • Stress
and trauma • Symptoms
of traumatic stress
What to do after a traumatic event • Managing
cumulative stress • Links and resources
What to Do After a Traumatic Event
Adaptive coping strategies
When you experience a critical incident, your body goes into a state
of high alert. Experiencing some stress symptoms as a result of a critical
incident is perfectly normal, and symptoms will usually subside and
disappear with time.
If you don’t take steps to help your body cope with stress reactions you will remain in a state of emergency-preparation for a longer period of time. The following techniques are useful in helping your body, and your emotions, wind-down and revert to normal.
- Get some exercise: Because physical exercise helps burn up all the stress chemicals and hormones that were dumped into your blood stream during the critical incident, getting some relatively strenuous physical exercise within 24-48 hours after the event can help your body re-stabilize.
- Cut yourself some slack: Realize that you have just been through a serious and unusual event. Acknowledge that you may experience some normal stress reactions in response to that event during the following weeks. Review what you know about stress, trauma reactions, and coping. Do not label yourself as crazy or weak.
- Allow time to decompress: This means allowing yourself a little extra time to accomplish routine and ordinary tasks, as well as making sure you help yourself relax by engaging in enjoyable activities such as reading, writing, physical activity, visiting someplace beautiful, and watching movies. Structure your time to stay relatively busy, and balance time alone with time spent with other people.
- Communicate: Talk with your family and friends about events you have experienced and your reactions and feelings. Talk to others involved in the incident, and check out how they’re doing. Writing about the experiences and your feelings in a journal or letters can also be very helpful.
- “Work” to relax: Set aside some time and experiment with various relaxation strategies, including: therapeutic massage, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and warm baths. Get plenty of rest, even if you can’t sleep.
- Eat well: Eat good, well-balanced meals.
- Make those daily decisions but don’t make any big life changes: It is important to make decisions about routine daily events (such as choosing what or where to eat for lunch) even if you don’t feel like it. This helps re-establish feelings of control over your life and routine. It is equally important that you avoid making major life-decisions shortly after the event (such as taking a new job or getting a divorce). Your judgment may be impaired during this time.
Maladaptive coping strategies
Be careful to avoid the following maladaptive coping strategies. They
serve to either push away awareness of the traumatic event, or give you
a false sense of accomplishment and control over the situation. In the
end they will probably worsen any trauma you may be experiencing:
- Don’t increase your use – or abuse – of alcohol, drugs, gambling, smoking, etc.
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants. Your body is already “hyped up” and these substances only increase your level of arousal.
- Don’t try to “just forget” about the event by working more than usual.
- Don’t avoid all thoughts and feelings about the event.
- Do avoid watching violent movies or TV, or reading books that are graphically violent.
When to seek professional help
Many find one or several sessions of confidential counseling helpful
in dealing with a critical incident and the impact that it has had upon
them. Some find it essential. For example, you should seek professional
help if:
- You are feeling especially overwhelmed and you cannot handle intense thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations alone.
- You feel that your emotions are not falling into place over time, and/or you feel chronic tension, confusion, emptiness, or exhaustion.
- You have to keep active in order to avoid feelings.
- You have no person or group with whom to share your emotions and you feel the need to do so.
- Your relationships seem to be suffering and sexual problems develop.
- You feel suicidal and/or experience frequent heart palpitations and chest pains.
Stress and a humanitarian
career • Stress and trauma •
Symptoms of traumatic stress
What to do after a traumatic event • Managing
cumulative stress • Links and resources