The most important thing is to give information about the situation and to offer practical help for the necessities of life such as food, accommodation and contact with family.

1. Let the person tell their story if they want to, but do not push them to do so if they don’t want to do this. People who experience a traumatic event have their own pace for dealing with the trauma. In trying to help such a person it is important to let them set the pace and not force the issue. Urging someone into a discussion of a traumatic event may actually re-traumatize a victim.
2. Recent research with war veterans shows some people do better by not recalling the traumatic events. Never push someone.
3. Be a patient and an empathetic listener, before giving any advice. Make personal contact and listen non-judgmentally before making any recommendations for help.
4. Validate the person’s stress reactions as being normal responses to abnormal events. Explain that stress reactions are normal for days or even weeks after a trauma and that people usually have a normal recovery of their emotions. These stress reactions include shock, fear, grief, emotional numbing, indecisiveness, worry, unwanted memories, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, being easily startled, distrust and irritability.
5. Encourage the person to reach out to other people who can provide support and share feelings about what is happening. Encourage traumatized people to talk with family, friends and work colleagues, following their own instincts on how much they say and with whom they talk. Don’t tell the person to stop reliving and simply forget the trauma and to get on with life. LET THEM CHOOSE THEIR OWN PATH TO HEALING.
6. Advise the person not to use alcohol or drugs to cope. Instead advise them to use simple relaxation methods.
7. If the stress reaction persists for more than a month, encourage the person to seek more help. If the person continues to experience stress reactions or severe distress that interferes with normal functioning after a month following the trauma, encourage the person to seek more help of their choosing help, if they have not already done so.
8. Trauma can be increased by force. Re-traumatization occurs very often in mental health “treatment.” This also is true of police and emt’s who often re-traumatize the people they are attempting to “help.” Restraint and seclusion are clear examples of this. Force that is subtle can also re-traumatize.
   

Note: People with pre-existing depressive or anxiety symptoms are more at risk of suffering longer after a trauma. Extra support may help.