What To Do Right After A Traumatic Event

coping after traumatic event, coping with traumatic events

When a person suffers from a horrific event like a disaster, the survivors need immediate help. If the victim is a parent, they will need help as quickly as possible so that they can in turn provide assistance to their children. Whether or not the child is involved in the trauma, they will react to their environment and if the parents are suffering the effects of being traumatized, the children will feel this and have an averse reaction.

The environment needs to be kept peaceful, calming and filled with hope. During the aftermath of a disaster, tempers may be on edge so it is important that everyone remain friendly even when others may be belligerent and difficult to be around.

Ways to help is to make a special effort to listen to and connect with others, that is if they want to talk about what happened. Individuals who have suffered from the devastation of a disaster will have an immediate need for a clean and safe place to stay, something good to eat, medical care if necessary, and other physical needs will need to be handled.

Every effort should be made to keep families together as much as possible, especially the children who will need the support of their relatives and the closeness of their parents. If their loved ones are not in the area, they will need to be contacted. They will need help in understanding what has happened and where to get the best help.

Do not make an issue of someone telling what has happened or probe them for intimate details. Things you should NOT say are comments like, “At least you survived.” Do not make comments about how you think a person should be reacting, or how they should be feeling or interject your own personal ideas and especially do not say anything that would make the victim feel they will not be able to get assistance.

There is always the temptation to say to the victim, “Its OK, you will be home soon and everything will be fine.” You have no way of actually knowing this and as much as you would like it to be true, it may not happen for them as you would both hope for them. False hope is no hope.

Some individuals are more reactive to traumatic situations and need special care. This can be an adult or a child. These individuals will need to sit down with a health care professional as quickly as possible to avoid developing post-traumatic stress disorder.