Practical ways to offer emotional support during a traumatic event
Misrad HaBriut in conjunction with The Academic College of Tel Hai have published a video showing how you can help people who have been emotionally traumatized by an event they just experienced. The video is appropriate for tweens and older. In Hebrew.
You can also watch it on Facebook.
The four points are:
- Have the person focus on you. During a trauma, a sense of isolation occurs. Therefore, have the person connect to you through the statement, “You are not alone, I am with you!”
- Helplessness increases distress. Encourage the person to carry out effective and simple tasks such as contact relatives and collect phone numbers.
- Ask simple questions that force thinking and making decisions. Avoid questions about emotions because stress increases emotional flooding. Ask simple questions about the event, such as: “How long are you here?” “Where do you need to go?” “Do you want to stand driving or do you want to call your family first? “Did you get here on your own?”
- A distressed person suffers from distraction and sometimes has difficulty speaking and cannot remember what happened. Have the person describe the sequence of events that occurred in order to create order and reduce confusion. Highlight the fact that the incident is over and behind him/her!
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