During a time of extreme uncertainty, most people would have experienced feelings of fear and anxiety and have suffered acute stress.

Ballito psychologist, Lisa GrantStuart of Health Matters said it was important to recognise the acute stress response and if necessary seek professional help.

There are 3 phases of acute stress:

1. The Fight Response: You feel aggressive and irritable.
2. The Flee Response: You are anxious, jumpy and are quick to startle.
3. The Freeze Response: You feel despondent, cannot think and feel paralyzed.

“People handling acute stress will cycle through these stages every day, possibly several times a day. Recognise the symptoms and be kind to one another.”

“For recovery it helps to reestablish your routine at home, restore intimacy with your spouse and get outside and do some gentle exercise or stretching. Do not overdo it though as severe exercise could push your brain into an adrenal state.”

Even completing a normal task like grocery shopping could be stressful at first, so repeat the activity until it feels normal again.

She also recommended using a simple 5-sense grounding exercise.

“When you are stressed your brain goes into a ‘future imagining’ state, whereby you imagine the worst. This exercise helps you to bring it back into the present and get your head out of that state of panic.”

Take a moment to complete this mental exercise by thinking of:

• Sight: 5 things you can take note of that you can see around you.
• Touch: 4 things you can feel (body awareness).
• Sound: 3 things you can hear.
• Smell: 2 things that you can smell.
• Taste: 1 thing that you can taste.

Grant-Stuart said the first 2 to 3 days post a traumatic incident were usually the most difficult, after which recovery should speed up.

If you do not see an improvement after a week then contact your GP or psychologist.

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