Psychologist response to Daylesford tragedy

Ingrid Morgan is a Clinical Psychologist at Springs Medical. Ingrid wrote this information for the community following the tragic event in Daylesford in November 2023. Thank you to Ingrid for this advice.

Were you witness to or involved in the incident on Sunday 5 November 2023? Was one of your loved ones? Were you triggered to a past trauma of your own from being involved or hearing about it?

Here's some things to expect over the coming month:

• You'll probably feel pretty awful. It's ok.
• It's normal to have nightmares, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks (feeling like you're reliving it)
• You might feel really on edge and jumpy
• You might be irritable, impatient, find yourself feeling irrational or overreactive to small things
• You might feel pretty disconnected from what's normally important to you (loved ones, work, study, hobbies, the future)
• You might feel the urge to avoid things, places and people that make you think of what happened.

It's all ok and normal after experiencing something traumatic.

As best you can, give yourself the space to experience these things, especially for the first month.

It is usually helpful to talk with trusted loved ones about what happened and about what you're thinking/feeling. At the same time, don't force yourself to if you don't feel ready.

Try not to lean heavily on quick, feel-good things like alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, shopping, binge-watching, doom-scrolling and the like.

Try to stick or return to your regular routine (or something like it) as best you can. Get back to work, exercise, see your friends, play with your kids, clean the house, do some gardening, etc.

Go easy on yourself, it will be tough. For lots of folk, things will start to get easier and shift a good month after the trauma.

If you feel overwhelmed by your feelings or like you're getting stuck along the way, reach out to your GP, psychologist, counsellor, therapist, psychiatrist etc.

Support is available