It's important for people to tune into the specific feelings and thoughts they are having in response to a threatening or emergency situation, as this will help them to find ways to manage them.
People usually become physically aroused in highly stressful situations. Common physical symptoms include:
When these physical reactions to stress begin, they usually trigger stressful thoughts such as:
How to identify your own feelings and thoughts
After the incident or threat has passed it is helpful to check whether identifying and managing your feelings and thoughts helped you feel being better psychologically prepared and able to cope.
Were you able to?
It is inevitable that after an incident you will be having some thoughts that may not be helpful.. Many people have strong emotional or physical reactions following an incident. Emotional distress following an incident can include anger, anxiety, sadness or grief and a tendency to doubt themselves.
The APS Tip Sheet Understanding and managing psychological trauma describes some of these symptoms of distress and provides suggestions promoting recovery, such as:
If you are finding that you are struggling to cope, then you may benefit from some additional help. In most areas of Australia, psychologists are available to provide a range of post-incident assistance such as supportive counselling, grief counselling and stress management. In some places teams are available to come into your centre to assist in coping with emotional distress.