If someone close to you is going through stress reactions after this tragedy it may be helpful to follow some simple guidelines:

• Stay with people while they are distressed.
• Help people who ask—but help them so they feel they can still be in control when they want to be.
• Help with practical tasks—these can be difficult to cope with for people deeply affected.
• Listen to the person's account of the events by keeping your questions of the situation to a minimum. Listen as long as they want to talk.
• Remind them to look after themselves physically—eat, rest and sleep.
• Reassure them about safety and security.
• Expect some moodiness and irritability.
• Continue with your own (and your family's) routine and allow the person some time to settle back into their own routine.
• Try not to make light of the situation or talking them out of their reactions—it takes to time to recover.

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