General Coping Guidelines
Regardless of individual circumstances, everyone needs to complete several steps to recover from a traumatic event.The following outlines general guidelines to assist the traumatically injured and their family in coping with their new circumstances:
- Accept the reality of the loss.
- Allow yourself and other family members to feel sadness and grief over what has happened.
- Put closure to the situation and move on. Do not continue to let the loss take its physical, emotional, or spiritual toll.
- Have faith in better times to come. You and your family have survived a traumatic event. That doesn’t mean your lives are over or that you don’t deserve to be happy again.
- Return to doing things you enjoy with friends and as a family when possible.
- Reestablish the routines of your life as best you can.
- Make commitments and keep them.
- If you or a member of your family still has trouble coping, ask for help. Consult a counselor or mental health professional.
- In the workplace, you may be able to get assistance from your human resources department or your company’s Employee Assistance Program.
- For help with financial matters, contact a financial advisor.