What To Do
AFTER A HAZARDOUS HAZING
- SAFETY FIRST: which means the first and most important action is to establish that you are physically O.K. You may not be able to determine this by yourself. If you are not sure, seek the help of a medical professional. Internal bleeding, fractures and the effects of overdose are all serious and need to be attended to as quickly as possible in order to reduce long term damage. This is your responsibility, because no one else can determine how you are feeling.
- Safety first holds true for others as well. If you know that someone else is hurt and you do not help them get to medical help, several things may occur. First, the victim may be more damaged and even die due to the fact that too much time elapsed from the time of the incident. Secondly, you may be held responsible from a legal point of view. Thirdly, you may feel guilty for the rest of your life. Lastly, one day someone else might save your life!
- Psychological Trauma may occur even if you have not been seriously endangered
physically. Many events that are part of initiation rites are structured to
cause feelings of humiliation, degradation and helplessness. Sometimes the
psychological damage can be worse than the physical, because the trauma continues.
Some of the symptoms to be aware of include:
- SLEEP PROBLEMS: recurrent nightmares, difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking early.
- FLASHBACKS: recurrent thoughts which flash back to the original events; you may re-visualize them, or remember sounds, smells or emotions. If these thoughts repeat in your mind, interrupting your ability to function or attend to your life, you may have been traumatized.
- EATING ISSUES: gaining or losing significant amount of weight after the trauma may also indicate that you have been effected psychologically.
- ANXIETY: nervousness, agitation, having a short fuse, difficulty concentrating, fears, reluctance to go somewhere or do something, and feeling uneasy are signs of anxiety, which require psychological intervention.
- AVOIDANCE: staying away from people, places or activities that usually give you enjoyment is another symptom. Sometimes avoidance is the first stage in the development of a phobia.
- DEPRESSION: if nothing seems to make you happy, and you have no desire or energy to do anything, see anyone, or go anywhere you may be suffering from depression. The sooner you receive some kind of psychological intervention the better the outcome.
- INTENSE FEELINGS: there are many intense feelings that may interfere with your ability to get through your day. Some examples include: feelings of sadness, helplessness, humiliation, crying without apparent cause, lack of motivation, inability to focus or complete tasks, revenge fantasies, and intense anger.
- If you want psychological help. There are lots of ways to get psychological
help. The quickest is the emergency room at a hospital, and this is suggested
if you feel like actually killing yourself or someone else. If the problems
are less severe consider the following:
- COLLEGE OR HIGH SCHOOLS: All schools have psychologists on staff that must be available for free and must maintain your confidentiality. They can help connect you to outside resources for further help should you want it.
- INSURANCE: If you have medical insurance you are most probably covered for some kind of mental health benefits. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask to see a mental health professional. They will tell you about your coverage and they must find you someone who is in your area. They may offer you a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. The most important criteria is that they have experience with your age group and kind of problem, and that you feel that you can trust and connect with the professional.
- PARENTS: If you feel comfortable it is always wise to ask your parents for help finding a professional to help you sort out your feelings. Parents are interested in helping their children and may know people or resources.
- AGENCIES: almost all areas have low-cost mental health agencies. If you cannot find them call the psychiatric department of a local hospital and ask for recommendations.
- RELIGIOUS organizations often have connections to services which provide counseling.
- THE TRUTH: if you are in psychological pain you need to find someone who you can trust and who will support and guide you. If there is a will there is a way, even if you have to ask family or friends to help you find the way. Do Not Give Up!