20 Aug 2007 10:42 AM

The Aftermath of School Shootings

Enter your post here

I am a layman and private citizen on general e-distribution of \\\'The Weekly SPARK\\\', an e-newsletter of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Soon after the (April 16, 2007) Virginia Tech tragedy the SPRC disseminated their April 19, 2007 issue of \\\'SPARK\\\'. It included the following announcement and link to the online location of the identified article (and more). I passed the announcement along to where I thought the information and guidance might be useful. I wasn\\\'t a member here at the time so I don\\\'t know if readers here are aware of it.  

 

Another school year is about to begin. Please consider sharing.

 

Mike

~~~~~~~

The Announcement:

 

IN RESPONSE TO THE VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY, APA RELEASES TIP SHEET FOR COPING. In the wake of the shootings at Virginia Tech, the American Psychological Association (APA) compiled and posted a new resource, \\\"Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings,\\\" to their APA Help Center website at:

 

http://apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=151

 

Opening paragraphs:

 

\\\'As a university or college student, you may be struggling to understand how a shooting rampage could take place on a university campus and why such a thing would happen. There may never be satisfactory answers to these questions.

 

\\\'We do know, though, that it is typical for people to experience a variety of emotions following such a traumatic event. These feelings can include shock, sorrow, numbness, fear, anger, disillusionment, grief and others. You may find that you have trouble sleeping, concentrating, eating or remembering even simple tasks. This is common and should pass after a while. Over time, the caring support of family and friends can help to lessen the emotional impact and ultimately make the changes brought about by the tragedy more manageable. You may feel that the world is a more dangerous place today than you did yesterday. It will take some time to recover your sense of equilibrium.

 

\\\'Meanwhile, you may wonder how to go on living your daily life. You can strengthen your resilience�the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity�in the days and weeks ahead.

 

\\\'Here are some tips:\\\'

 

The complete article may be downloaded (pdf) at:

 

http://helping.apa.org/articles/article.php?id=151

 

A sidebar adjacent the article links to additional and related useful information, titles as follows:

 

            Work & School

            Family & Relationships

            Health & Emotional Wellness

            Disasters & Terrorism

            Managed Care & Health Insurance

            Facts & Statistics

 

Send this to a friend