Maintaining a Healthy State of Mind

No one who experiences a terrorist event is left untouched, whether they are directly affected, live in the affected area, have friends or family who are affected or are only exposed to media coverage of the event.

Even if a terrorist act produces little physical damage, it can bring fear, confusion and uncertainty into everyday life. It is important to understand that strong emotional reactions to such an event are normal. But people are resilient, able to recover from difficult experiences.

We each have our own way of dealing with stressful situations. Building resilience-the ability to adapt well to unexpected events-can help us manage stress and feelings of anxiety. We all can develop resilience. It involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned over time.

The following sections explore common reactions to uncommon events and how people in different age groups can build resilience to prepare for, respond to and recover from distressing thoughts, emotions, sensations and behaviors that may follow a terrorist incident.

Parents/caregivers | Middle school students | High school students | Adults | Seniors

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