{"id":18715,"date":"2022-06-07T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=18715"},"modified":"2022-06-07T13:16:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:16:31","slug":"the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html","title":{"rendered":"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two days after the Tulsa shooting, I had a routine mammogram scheduled in the same building where just 2 floors above a patient became a shooter and killed two physicians, a receptionist and a Good Samaritan patient who helped others escape the attack. The waiting room was unusually somber. Patient check-in was interrupted for a brief intercom call for a staff meeting. After about 10 minutes, the health care workers reappeared and tried valiantly to return to their routine. But you could see they were physically shaken.<\/p>\n

I talked to my tech and asked how she was doing, told her I was a therapist and could not imagine what that day must have been like. She was eager to talk. Tears came quickly to her eyes. She was still trying to process all that had happened. It still felt surreal. The medical suite had been tossed by first responders looking for weapons and other possible shooters. So the morning I saw her, things were massively out of order. And as you can guess, this triggered more emotions.<\/p>\n

We talked about anxiety. How it is better to try and move through it, rather than avoid it. And how important routine will be to get her on the road to healing. But right now, she was just trying to process it all. And her mind could not fathom the random horror coming to work–on an ordinary day–and people losing their life. Nevertheless, she was so kind and so brave.<\/p>\n

When these evil events happen, our thoughts immediately gravitate to the victims and their families. We don’t usually think about those who witnessed the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurrying for safety. Without warning, there is sudden chaos. Most are resilient. But those who struggle most often lack friends and family’s support. Or, they actually had loved ones directly involved in the tragedy.<\/p>\n

Those who do work through the trauma will have an acute stress reaction. If it persists over a month, it can become post traumatic stress. What does seem to help is feeling connected to your community. So, healing is accelerated by talking to others, holding a vigil, gathering to grieve and crying as a community.<\/p>\n

The tech was still in shock, rightfully so. Her anxiety was normal and valid. And she may need to talk about this several times with other people. At the moment, she just needed to breathe, lean against my exam room door and process out loud. Several factors will determine how each of the staff in that building do: how close they were to shooting, if they have had other traumas and losses in their life, how they were functioning before this event, their coping skills, and on-going social support.<\/p>\n

As we wrapped up our time together, I told the tech, I would pray for her. She was grateful. And for a moment, I thought about the unkind remarks of an Arizona politician who vulgarly told Americans to stop praying. From his distorted perspective, prayer is useless. Obviously, he doesn\u2019t understand the power of prayer. \u00a0So no, I won’t stop praying. People need prayer to get through difficult times. It’s often what sustains us. We need each other, like Moses needed Aaron, to lift our arms when we are weary.<\/p>\n

Jesus says in Matthew 18:18-20,<\/p>\n

\u201cTruly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Battles are won in prayer. Prayer calms the soul by casting out doubt, fear and anxiety. \u00a0You can even see this calming effect on brain scans. Prayer says we need God. And prayer is a powerful weapon against the enemy. On the night of the shooting, our mayor said he didn’t know what to tell us to do. But the hospital CEO looked straight into the camera and said, pray–we believe in prayer.<\/p>\n

Jesus invites us in to a relationship with Him, encouraging us to talk to Him, to bring all of our burdens to Him. Then, He assures us He listens. When we pray, we remember, He is all powerful. Nothing is impossible for Him. And He answers.<\/p>\n

Never stop praying for those who mourn. It is no small thing when you engage with the Maker of the Universe. It may be just the thing a person needs to get them \u00a0through a difficult day or time.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two days after the Tulsa shooting, I had a routine mammogram scheduled in the same building where just 2 floors above a patient became a shooter and killed two physicians, a receptionist and a Good Samaritan patient who helped others escape the attack. The waiting room was unusually somber. Patient check-in was interrupted for a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[6391,135,137,2525,1545,297,6394],"class_list":["post-18715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-acute-stress","tag-anxiety","tag-fear","tag-mass-shooting","tag-prayer","tag-trauma","tag-witness-trauma"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We don't think about those who witness the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurry for safety. Most are resilient, but there a struggle.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We don't think about those who witness the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurry for safety. Most are resilient, but there a struggle.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-07T13:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-07T17:16:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2022\/06\/image.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond","description":"We don't think about those who witness the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurry for safety. Most are resilient, but there a struggle.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond","og_description":"We don't think about those who witness the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurry for safety. Most are resilient, but there a struggle.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2022-06-07T13:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-07T17:16:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2022\/06\/image.png"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html","name":"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2022\/06\/image.png","datePublished":"2022-06-07T13:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-07T17:16:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"description":"We don't think about those who witness the trauma hearing gun shots, screams and scurry for safety. Most are resilient, but there a struggle.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2022\/06\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2022\/06\/image.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2022\/06\/the-aftermath-of-a-trauma-how-you-can-respond.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Aftermath of a Trauma: How You Can Respond"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18715"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18799,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18715\/revisions\/18799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}