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- Student counselling
- Mental health advice and support
- Resources and self-help materials
- Self-help books
- Online self-help resources
- Self-help for chaotic eating
- After a traumatic event
- Exam anxiety management techniques
- Homesickness
- How to keep calm during exams
- The First Year Transition
- Are You A Chronic Worrier?
- Long Distance Relationships at University
- Stress Management
- Assertiveness
- Procrastination Prevention
- Body Image
- Coping with Depression
- Managing Difficult Emotions
- Family Matters: Coping with Unexpected Changes
- Perfectionism - a double-edged sword
- Help for compulsive eaters
- Complementary Therapies
- Support for international students
- Concerns about another
- Confidentiality and record keeping
- In an emergency
- Mitigation
- FAQs
- About Wellbeing Services
- Make an appointment
After a Traumatic Event
This page has been written for anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event of some kind. Traumatic events affecting students can include medical emergencies, serious accidents, suicides or suicide attempts, violent crimes and accidental deaths. The event may directly involve you, or may have happened to a friend, housemate, or relative. Alternatively, you may have been drawn in simply as a bystander. Whatever the route, if you were involved in what happened or even tried to help, this leaflet is for you. It will explain how you might be feeling and where you can find support.
Common reactions and feelings
If you experienced or witnessed an event that is deeply distressing, you may feel intense fear, helplessness, or panic- or you may feel completely numb. If it is still very soon after the event, you may not even realise that you have been particularly affected. This is because it can take a while for the initial shock to wear off.
During the hours, days or weeks that follow, you may replay the incident or death in your mind, e.g. through memories, images, dreams, feelings, or physical sensations. You could have problems falling asleep, or with waking up at night. You may also have trouble concentrating or paying attention to what you are doing. Other reactions may include feeling tired, anxious, detached, irritable or sad. Some students may try to avoid locations or activities that might remind them of what happened.
A student who is very calm at first may become upset much later on. Some people will cry easily and openly; for others it may take a while. There is no one emotional reaction that is the same for everyone involved.
Some useful coping strategies
First, recognise that these reactions are normal responses to an extreme situation. Try to be accepting of your own feelings and reactions, as well as those of others. Different people may react in very different ways.
Talking to others can be very helpful and is an important way of making connections. If family or friends are supportive, tell them about your experience. Try to understand what your limitations were at the time. Students often feel that they should have reacted differently or done something to prevent a friend’s death or to lessen the impact of a traumatic incident. Be aware that in unexpected or difficult situations, most people react in the best way that they can. It is quite common to feel guilty or helpless in the aftermath, but often these feelings lessen with time.
It is also important to take care of yourself. Lack of structure and aimless time alone can make things worse. Maintain your usual routine as much as you can, making sure to get extra rest and time to relax. Avoid excessive use of alcohol, as drinking under these circumstances can have unpredictable psychological results. It is also probably wise to delay major decisions or changes in your life until you are feeling more stable and secure.
If the trauma or loss has also affected your friends and family, they may not be able to help or even listen to you. In such cases, you may wish to talk to someone outside your usual support network.
Support services on campus
There are several support services on campus if you are worried or upset about what has happened, and how you are coping. Some students may be struggling with grief, or worried about their own emotional well-being or their personal relationships. Others may be concerned about the impact on their academic studies or examinations. Whatever your concern, there are people in the University and the Students’ Guild who can provide help, support and advice.
Student Counselling Service
Speaking to a counsellor can help make sense of your experience – to understand how the traumatic event or loss affected you and to express your own feelings and reactions. The service is confidential and free. Appointments can be arranged in person via reception or by booking an appointment over the telephone.
Reception is open weekdays in term 9.30 -1:00 PM and 2.00- 5.00 PM
Tel (01392) 264381
www.ex.ac.uk/counselling/
Guild Advice Unit, 1st floor, Devonshire House
The advisors can offer help with accommodation, financial matters, mitigating circumstances letters to tutors, practical advice and support, etc. (01392) 263520 or x3520
Chaplaincy
Lazenby Chaplain and St Luke’s Chaplain (Anglican): Rev Charles Hadley
Tel (01392) 435384 (mob 07739 232455)
St Luke’s Chaplain, Rev Andrea Hofbauer A.M.Hofbauer@exeter.ac.uk
Catholic Chaplain: Fr Paul Cummins Tel (01392) 271191
Student Health Centre
Reed Mews, Streatham campus
Tel (01392) 264414/676606
A GP can offer a medical consultation to help with any immediate or lingering health problems after the event
