On a peaceful and beautiful weekend afternoon, there was a sudden moment of fright.
On the afternoon of April 13, local time, a knife attack occurred at a shopping mall located in the Bondi junction area in southeast Sydney, Australia. As of press time, seven people, including the attackers, had been killed and more than 10 others had been injured.
This large shopping mall called Bondi is also one of the most popular places for local Chinese students and Chinese. The Chinese Embassy in Australia and the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney confirmed that one Chinese student was unfortunately killed and another Chinese student was injured.
One of the victims of the tragedy, 25-year-old Dawn Singleton, is the daughter of John Singleton, one of Australia's most famous businessmen. At the time of her murder, she was shopping at a high-end boutique in the mall.
The reporter learned that Dawn was one of the three daughters born to John and his sixth wife, lawyer Julie Martin, and the two later divorced. John, 82, has been married seven times and has eight children. John amassed a fortune in publishing, advertising, and motorsports, with his companies going public in 1995 and acquiring several television network groups.
According to Australian police, the suspect appears to have focused on women and avoided men. Police also said the suspect had psychological problems in the past. There is no evidence that the incident is terrorism-related.
The reporter of "News Morning Post" contacted and interviewed a number of witnesses and listened to them tell the real situation on the scene that day. At the same time, on social media, many netizens said that they had varying degrees of psychological damage because they had seen some videos and photos at the scene. To this end, we also contacted and interviewed relevant psychologists to listen to their advice.
"The staff motioned for us to quickly hide in the warehouse, and I realized that there had been a shooting. Recalling the experience of that day at the mall, Dora is still in a state of horror.
On April 13, she and her boyfriend were supposed to go shopping in the clothing section of the mall that day, but as soon as they reached the floor where the clothes were sold, they found that the roller blinds had been lowered, and there were more than a dozen people standing next to the roller blinds, and when she walked over to see what was happening, she heard gunshots. She said that because there was no way to lock a door in the middle, the staff kept holding the hanger against it, and the alarm sounded constantly. "I'm really scared of someone coming in with a gun, because no one knows what's going on outside. ”
In this way, Dora and her boyfriend stayed in the warehouse with other customers for more than ten minutes before receiving a notice to be evacuated. "At that time, I was in no mood to take pictures inside, so I didn't leave any photos of hiding, and only later did I know that there was a gunshot, and a female policeman at the scene shot and killed the gangster, and she was still very heroic. ”
Amy entered the mall almost at the same time as the murderer, at that time, she happened to want to go to Lululemon to shop, suddenly heard two or three gunshots in a row, and found the nearest fitting room to hide, but the fitting room was not locked only curtains, so her heart was full of fear at that time.
"My first reaction was that this could happen in Australia? I hid in the same fitting room with two Chinese girls and a white mother and daughter, and the white mother and daughter asked if we were okay? ”
More than 20 minutes after the alarm went off, the mall suddenly sounded a radio telling everyone to evacuate, but Amy and the other customers just walked to the door of the fitting room and retreated in fear, until the second announcement sounded that they must evacuate immediately, and they walked out of the fitting room and through the fire escape.
Amy told the Morning News that after experiencing all this as a witness, she is still in a very heavy mood and is still recovering.
Lisa, a Chinese who has lived in Sydney, Australia for many years, told the "Morning News" reporter that although she was not at the scene of this unexpected tragedy, she still has lingering palpitations, "I really felt the distance between us and death that day, maybe because it was a shopping mall that I frequented with my friends." ”
In the face of interviews with reporters, many witnesses said that they had not been able to come out of this tragedy and were very sad. So in the face of negative emotions after trauma, how to judge and heal from the professional psychological level?
We got in touch with Oliver, a local Chinese in Australia, who is currently working in art therapy.
On April 15, Oliver wrote a letter to the families of the two victims through the local government website. In his letter, he wrote: "Although the events of April 13 have cast a shadow over the city, I still believe that there is a lot of love here, and I think this is why Ms Cheng (the victim) chose to study in Sydney." ”
Oliver said that the incident happened less than 2 kilometers away from his work, and he felt deep empathy when he saw the two girls who were about to get married and their lovers in the shopping mall he was familiar with.
In his opinion, there are some impactful live videos and images that are still widely circulated on social media at home and abroad, and in his opinion, such videos are likely to cause traumatic stress reactions, persistent stress symptoms such as acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), secondary trauma, emotional numbness or negativity.
The length of the cycle depends on individual differences, with resilient people recovering quickly from trauma, while those with strong empathy tend to have a long recovery period. At the same time, there are many external factors, such as the psyche itself with health problems or the isolation of people in social networks, who see such catastrophic events more permanently affected.
There are also many witnesses who say that they have not yet gotten out of their fear or pain. So, what are the ways to heal and protect yourself, and in which case do you need to seek help from a professional counselor or doctor?
In this regard, Oliver said that the first thing to do is to have a basic judgment of the degree of trauma, which can be divided into three categories: mild, moderate and severe.
Mild will not interfere with daily life, but there is a slight discomfort, at this time, you can choose to maintain a regular rhythm of life and sufficient sleep, exercise, meditation and other ways to relax. If you feel that social activities are less frequent or have a significant impact on your personal life, this is a moderate to severe situation, and it is important to actively seek professional psychological intervention.
"In the face of unavoidable disasters and the impermanence of life, it is very important to find appropriate adjustment and coping strategies. This can help us maintain our mental health, build resilience, and better face the challenges that may lie ahead. ”