Support for individuals affected by the tragedy at Shoreham Air Show

Local NHS services in Sussex and Brighton & Hove have pooled their resources to try and offer psychological and emotional support to individuals who have been affected by the events of this past weekend at the Shoreham Air Show. There were a large number of people who attended the event official who may be feeling a heavy emotional or psychological impact at having witnessed the accident. There will also be those who lived near by or were watching the event from outside the official grounds, or event people who happened to be in the area at the time.

Having witnessed traumatic events it can be common to have flashbacks to the events that could come at any time and come with distressing feelings, thoughts or emotions. They may affect people's ability to sleep if they are suffering nightmares. Some people can find that they are easily startled for a time after the event. The NHS Sussex Partnership have created a webpage that features advice to help while these normal reactions slowly reduce. They also list telephone numbers to call for local services set up specifically to help those struggling with the impact of witness the traumatic events. This service, created to avoid the usual waitlist for psychological services on the NHS, will continue to operate until the 18th of September.

If you were visiting the area from outside of Sussex and are feeling deeply affected by the event of the weekend you can access assistance through your GP surgery. Or, if you wish, you can find other qualified counsellors and therapists like myself through the BACP therapist finder.

Picture © 2015 Worthing Herald