Ways to deal with post-traumatic stress
How to deal with a traumatic experience - a local psychologist, James Olmesdahl, shared insight on the topic.
FOLLOWING a traumatic experience that one of our readers and a Malvern resident had, the Queensburgh News spoke to a local psychologist for tips and advice on dealing with the aftermath.
Our previous issue, dated Friday, 10 July, featured Francios Bigaignon’s story who now is on antiretroviral treatment after being bitten on his arm in an attempt to ward off hijackers on the N2 freeway.
Malvern psychologist, James Olmesdahl, shared insight on the topic.
After a traumatic incident, especially in cases where your life has been threatened, it is normal for the body to develop a stress response.
Symptoms of a stress response may include: racing thoughts, hyper-alertness, increased breathing and heart rate, sweating, dizziness, headaches, muscle tightening, reduced appetite, sleeping difficulties and/or disturbing dreams. You may also experience emotions such as shock, disbelief, helplessness, sadness, anger, blame, guilt and fear.
You may startle easily from noises and there may be an increase in behaviours such as drinking, smoking or eating. You may try to avoid certain places and/or people that remind you of the event. When these symptoms persist in the weeks following a traumatic incident, it is known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
If a traumatic incident is experienced, such as an armed robbery or a hijacking, you may be struggling with some of these responses. It is important to know that there are things you can do to assist your recovery.
