TRANSCRIPT
In the wake of the Bondi beach tragedy last weekend, Sydney has welcomed new mental health support systems.
New South Wales Health is offering support for anyone affected - both directly and indirectly.
A mental health disaster response has been set up with trained mental health clinicians in Bondi and Coogee from 8am to 8pm over the coming days and weeks.
The clinicians will be wearing hi-vis New South Wales Health vests to be easily identified by the local community.
It follows Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years, after alleged gunmen Sajid Akram, who was 50 years-old and his 24 year-old son Naveed fired at a crowd of people at Bondi beach in Sydney early Sunday evening, during a Hanukkah celebration.
The attackers are understood to be a part of the self proclaimed Islamic State group.
Psychologist Dr Tamara Malca Ben Shaul has told SBS Hebrew there isn't a right or wrong way to feel about the incident.
“It's probably a really good idea to stay off social media and all those kind of channels and maybe decide on what period of time to engage with the news. The news changes every minute and there's a lot of recapping all the time. And it just kind of feeds the nervous system with the information that this ongoing event is really actually happening at the moment.”
She says the nervous system doesn't really distinguish between a traumatic mental response or if actual trauma has been experienced.
“There's of course the difference between people who have been there, who are in Bondi, in Sydney and in other cities, and everyone is activated, so to make sure there are some grounding techniques, like really paying attention to the senses, to - you know just ask yourself what am I seeing, what am I smelling, what am I hearing now, what am I touching.”
Dr Ben Shaul says if someone is still feeling the same after five minutes, it's probably a good idea to reach out to professionals.
SBS News spoke to Dr Anna Brooks, who's the Chief Research Office at Lifeline Australia - a national charity providing all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
She says earlier this week, Lifeline Australia saw two of its biggest days of people seeking out to crisis support services.
“We're taking more than 4,000 requests for support each day, and that's more than ten per cent higher than our average volumes of people seeking support across the course of this year.”
She says it's important to keep track of your feelings - adding that if you're struggling, feeling overwhelmed, and not quite sure what to do next - to please reach out for support.
“Reach out to those around them, check in with others, see how they're traveling, give them the opportunity to talk to you. Coming together as a community after a shocking, devastating event like this is a way that we can really add value to each other and come back together as a nation.”
Dr Brooks says one of the practical things that people can do is to control the amount of exposure that they're getting to the incident.
“There's an awful lot of footage and information out, and when you see things, you can't unsee them. So be mindful of how much you actually want to consume that news. And if you are starting to feel overwhelmed, then it might be a good time to step away from that information for a while. And also keep an eye on that for friends and loved ones as well. If you think they're starting to struggle, give them the opportunity to talk to you, but also make the suggestion that maybe it'd be a good thing to not consume too much more of the news for a while.”
She shares Lifeline have a specific tool around this Bondi attack, and her team is seeing a lot of people reaching out for information via that toolkit.
But Dr Brooks shares her concerns.
She says a lot of people are not quite sure what a 'crisis' is, which sometimes can be a deterrent to reach out for appropriate support.
“We really do encourage people to reach out early. If they're starting to feel overwhelmed or unsure, not sure what to do next, please know that we are there for you. Our crisis supporters are ready to help people through this really tough time. So don't feel like you have to be in really extreme crisis, acute crisis to use our services. We are there for everyone, and we're there for people who may just be at the moment, who may be feeling unsure, a little bit overwhelmed, but not necessarily in crisis.”
Leo Hede is the Kids Helpline National Manager - a 24/7 phone and counselling online service for young people aged 5 to 25.
He describes a call they received after the incident.
“Immediately afterwards, we had a call from a mother and three young children who were at the beach during the event and need an immediate support. And then our counselors have also been supporting both parents and children and young across Australia with calls just to talk through and support them with the impacts of what's been happening, not just in Sydney. The calls are coming from young people and parents across Australia.”
He says their counsellors are supporting young people to manage those immediate emotions they might be feeling.
Most importantly, normalising what they are feeling - whether they're feeling angry or sad or fearful.
The counsellors - who have professional qualifications - will then explore coping options for them.
“That could be connecting to family, it could be connecting to other activities to community so that they can find ways to cope and manage. Often it is about helping them, staying off their phones, staying away from the media exposure, opening up and talking to their family, to the community about how they're feeling.”
Mr Hede says parents can call their services up, and hand the phone over the phone to their kids to get support from one of their counsellors.
For older kids, they're welcome to call themselves and to connect with a counsellor.
Their web chat counselling service is a popular way for young people - where they can go on their phones or onto their computers and chat via text with one of our counsellors.
Mr Hede tells SBS News it's a good way for those who do not feel ready and confident to talk on the phone, but they can still connect with a counsellor for support at any time, day or night.
“Working through that early phase of grief and trauma is often about helping young people regulate their emotions. It could be about grounding techniques, it could be about helping them regulate their breathing. It could be helping them engage and stay to their family and to supports.”
He says for children their number one advice is to stay connected to their family and community.
“A key tip and advice for parents is to be available for your children and for your family. And to be reassuring that your parents are often are the anchors in the family and children are looking to them. So make sure that you are being present and available and curious about what is happening for your children and supporting them through this time.”
Speaking after the Christchurch earthquakes, New Zealand counselling expert Professor George Seber [[Sea-burh]] told Shine TV 'it's important to allow yourself to grieve'.
“Recognise that perhaps they are grieving. And by talking about it, and allowing the tears to come, and some people say 'stiff up the upper lip' but the way to grief - the best way to get out of grief is to grief - always. That helps to accelerate the process, tears in fact have certain substances in them which actually help us. So tears are there for a very important reason.”
If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25).
