Advice for anyone experiencing a crisis
- Surround yourself with people who make you feel safe and secure. Pets can also play an important role. If you can’t meet other people in person, use digital channels to help you connect with family, friends, colleagues or other people you like
- Try to establish routines – go for a walk every day or make a point of always eating breakfast. Don’t place too many demands on yourself and don’t take on anything that feels too much at the moment. Get help from others if you feel you haven’t got the energy yourself.
- Limit your exposure to things you find stressful; for example, news items about the incident or watching videos or repeatedly listening to accounts of the incident.
- With new stresses in your life it’s important that you give yourself time and look after yourself more. Tell yourself that things won’t always feel this bad and that your feelings will come and go. Treat yourself in the same way as you would treat a special friend.
- If you’re worried about how you’re reacting, are in physical pain or need more support than you can get from your network, seek professional help. If you don’t have confidence in the professional help you’re given, tell them, or change your doctor, nurse, psychologist or counsellor. Ask other people to help you if you’re finding things too hard.
- If possible, avoid making critical decisions or major changes in your life in the first few months.
- Approach people you trust and tell them you’re having a particularly difficult time at the moment. If you find talking about what’s happened affects your health, limit how and when you talk about it. There is no obligation on you to tell everybody about everything. If you find it helpful, you could use a diary to record your feelings.
- Do activities that are calming for your body. These could include relaxation exercises or yoga. Many people experiencing severe anxiety find walking helpful. Other activities might be spending time outdoors in the natural environment, listening to music, doing handicrafts, baking, gardening or whatever works for you personally. Make a note of which activities help you feel calm and safe and try to do more of them.
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