How to cope with trauma after a school shooting in your neighborhood
The sudden shock of a school shooting happening nearby leaves people reeling, exhausted, and deeply depressed as they watch friends, neighbors, and students suffer. This overwhelming grief makes it difficult to process the tragedy and leaves individuals feeling completely drained right where they live.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Talking to a therapist or counselor
- 2Outsourcing the conversation to admin and mental health professionals, or sending mass communication home to families.
- 3Having the teacher make the boys sit out for the remainder of recess.
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“This is in my neighborhood, friends and neighbors and my students are affected. Absolutely horrendous. My heart is broken.”source ↗
“I am just very concerned now about how to handle this because she’s not going anywhere but I have 6 or so kids really shaken up and I’m sure more that just didn’t show it.”source ↗
“Just sitting here reeling.”source ↗
“I’m just so tired.”source ↗
“I’m just so depressed”source ↗
“With everything that has happened around us with gun control, or lack there of, I feel like more should have been done. I am not sure what though.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2How to cope with guilt after a student passes away
- 5Did I traumatize my pet after an accident?
- 2How to prepare kids for school violence and bullying
- 4How to handle toddler grief and behavioral outbursts after a loss
- 2How to help a kid who hates middle school