The Importance of Psychological Support for Trauma Victims and What to Do

Psychological trauma includes sudden and unexpected events that threaten the physical or spiritual integrity of the individual or his or her loved ones and cause intense emotions such as fear, terror, and helplessness.

Traumas can be divided into social traumas (earthquake, flood, etc.). We can divide it into two: tornado, tsunami, explosion...) and individual traumas (violence, abuse, harassment, rape, traffic accident, mugging, separation and divorce, sudden illness, sudden death...).

Post-traumatic. Reactions are “normal reactions of normal people to abnormal events”. It is not the victim or their reactions that are abnormal; It is the event itself.

Trauma victims experience emotional reactions (shock, sadness, anger, worry, guilt, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, pessimism, dullness, extreme irritability, helplessness) after the event. .); physical (head/chest pain, heartburn and/or nausea, heart tightness, sensitivity to noise, increased or vice versa decreased appetite, constant fatigue, shortness of breath and getting sick easily...) or and behavioral (sleeping and eating disorders, withdrawal from the social environment, self-neglect, introversion, alcohol and substance use, avoidance behaviors, not speaking, inattention and disorganization, constantly dealing with the same thing, acting as if nothing has happened ...) can develop reactions. Relatives of trauma victims may experience similar reactions, perhaps at lower doses.

Coping Methods

• Giving time

• Focusing on your strengths

• Accepting family and social support

• Setting priorities

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• Setting small and realizable goals

• Eating healthy and regularly

• Enough. rest for a while

• Doing small exercises

• Chatting with people

• Avoiding big and serious decisions

• Remembering that you are not alone

 

Relatives of Trauma Victims What Can They Do?

• Just listen and try to empathize with how they feel

• Emotional, physical and social support It was very important in the first place r

• Give them time to adapt to daily life

• Ask about their needs

• Express frequently that you are with them

• Express your sadness for what happened

• Do not try to avoid talking about the incident or ignore it

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Trauma in Children

Children may be afraid of the event happening again, of being alone, of sleeping alone, of death. It is natural for children to need to be close to their parents after the incident. Inability to sleep alone, difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently, having nightmares, bedwetting and eating problems may occur.

Approach to Children

• Give brief and clear information about the incident

• Make sure to spend time one-on-one

• Make physical contact

• Try to play games

• Draw pictures together

• Talk in detail with older children. Support and encourage them to express their feelings and thoughts

• Try to answer their questions in a way they can understand

• Try to show that you love them, support them and always care for them. Express frequently that you will protect him/her

 

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Experiencing the trauma over and over in one's mind

a)    Flashbacks

b)    Nightmares

c)    During the day about the trauma Thoughts that come to mind and cannot be stopped

• Exhibiting avoidance behaviors

a)    Avoiding conversations and memories of the traumatic event
b)    Avoiding activities, places and people associated with the traumatic event
c)    Inability to remember an important part of the traumatic event
d)    Decreased interest and participation in daily activities
e)    Feeling of being disconnected from other people
f)    Difficulty expressing emotion

• Be physically stimulated Showing symptoms of pain

The body gets triggered when reminded of the traumatic event

A state of hyperarousal

Sleep problems (Insomnia)

Anger

Difficulty concentrating

When Should You Consult a Specialist?

• When the symptoms start to affect your private, social and business life

• Especially when you have sleeping and eating problems

• When accompanied by depressive symptoms

• When PTSD symptoms last longer than 1 month

The Importance of Psychological Support for Trauma Victims

• Information

    For people who are less affected by the trauma and can continue their lives as before.

• Counseling or Short-Term Psychotherapy

    More affected by the trauma Those who experience serious symptoms but are able to continue working for those with severe symptoms

• Psychotherapy

  • EMDR Therapy (Desensitization and Reprocessing with Eye Movements): Unprocessed memories are processed and processed in a healthy way. It is the process of processing and re-storing.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: The relationship between emotion, thought and behavior is studied.

• Medication

  • Decrease in thought intensity

  • Ensuring sleep and eating patterns

  • Elimination of tantrums

  • Reduction of depressive symptoms

  • Ensuring concentration

  • Reducing physical pain and complaints

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