Anxiety and trauma during civil unrest

Anxiety and trauma during civil unrest
Resilience and safety tips for you and your children

As South Africa faces times of distress and uncertainty, it is essential to provide safety for yourself, and your loved ones, including children. It is important that we stick together as one nation and restore calm to our beautiful country. We provide tips below to help you and your family cope through these challenging times.

    Darren Cohen
    Darren Cohen - General Manager
    13 July 2021
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      Tips for parents

      When your child is feeling afraid, help them build resilience

      Sharing emotions provides comfort

      • Create a safe space: Allow children to speak about what’s on their minds and reflect on their feelings by giving them advice on how to cope.
      • Validate their feelings: Allowing children to feel like they have been heard and understood helps to ease panic. They should not be ashamed of being overwhelmed by the current chaos and uncertainty
      • It’s ok to be afraid: Don’t let fear to rule your home. Through the volatility, children may experience many emotions. This is normal.

      Talk openly about these feelings. Legal&Tax offers unlimited telephonic Trauma Counselling for you and your family to help you get through this time of uncertainty.

      Manage big emotions

      • Manage your reactions as a parent: Be mindful of how you voice your opinions about the current events. Your child will pick up on your negative energy and this might invoke stress.
      • Be aware of your emotional state: It is natural to feel stress and worried, however you do not want to vent your emotions out on your child.
      • Take time to sit with your child to discuss coping skills: This can help remove any anxiety that your child might be feeling.
      • Answer questions honestly: This will ensure that no unnecessary information is added to the story that could cause your child to stress more.
      • Create an open environment for your child to voice their feelings: By doing this, you allow your child to ask all questions that could be concerning them at this time rather than bottling their emotions. For kids that struggle with words, encourage them to write or draw.
      • Find a positive: It is always a good idea to find something to do that the whole family can get involved, taking your minds off any distress you might be feeling.

      Manage media exposure

      • Be aware of their social media habits: They may be seeing stuff online that even you haven’t. Ensure your child only has access to age-appropriate social media sites.
      • Limit emotionally stirring images: This could have lasting effects and be traumatizing for your child.
      • Limit exposure to News bulletins and video streams: Over this time of uncertainty, there will be a lot of fake news circling the internet which adds no value and should rather be left than spoken about.
      • Explain the content in context: Try and keep all relevant information in context rather than explaining the current events out of emotion and frustration.
      • Ask your child how they feel about what they see and hear: Recognize their emotion and encourage conversation.
      • It is important to talk positively: This includes First responders which incorporate the Police, Medical staff and Private security groups. They are the ones that protect us.
      • Comfort your family who may be experiencing anxiety: Take our anxiety test to see if you require assistance

      With Legal&Tax you’re not alone

      Now more than ever, we strive to be a companion to all our members as well as those in need. We are here to help you get through these days. Protect your family by reaching out for help whenever you need it. Our website provides you with 24/7 assistance.

      Contact us for more info. We are here to help.

      content originally sourced from https://www.facebook.com/sparrowtrustza/

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