5 ways to cope with trauma after being involved with a crime scene
If you have been involved in a crime scene or traumatic incident, we understand at Aftercare Specialist Cleaning just how challenging that can be. As a team, we have put together some advice that we have found have helped our clients dealing with challenging situations.
We work with many victims all over the country that have been affected or involved in crime scenes. As a company, our job is to clean the crime scene once all criminal evidence has been removed and permission granted from the police. However, as a family run business, we understand that our job goes just beyond the technical clean up. Rather, we also try to work with the persons involved so we can work with them so they feel comfortable, respected and we can help them to return their home back to a safe environment. We understand how traumatic these situations can be so we wanted to put together this useful blog to provide some different coping mechanisms when dealing with trauma following a crime scene.
1. Communicate
Reach out to the people you love. Your family and friends love you and want to support you. Even if you aren’t ready to speak about what happened, keep your loved ones around you and lean on them for support. If you can find someone you can trust to speak and communicate how you are feeling, sometimes this can be a really helpful way to release some of the tension you are feeling so you don’t feel alone.
2. Speak to a professional
If you are ready to speak with a professional, this is one of the biggest steps that will help you to heal from trauma. Counsellors are specially trained to professionally give you the tools to cope and work through challenging emotions. There are both private counsellors available as well as lots of free services and charities that you can reach out to. Speaking to a professional is completely confidential so you can open up about how you are feeling in a safe, private and unbiased manner.
3. Be kind to yourself
If you have been faced with or involved in a crime scene, this is an extremely challenging situation. It is completely normal to feel distressed, emotional and very anxious after being involved with a traumatic situation. Even if you start to feel better, subconsciously it can take a really long time before you start to feel normal again. So, give yourself time to heal. Be patient with yourself and your emotions.
4. Breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation
We highly recommend looking into different ways you can control your breathing and help you relax following a traumatic incident. There are some incredible tools out there that really help to deal with anxiety, there are even some fantastic mobile apps that can be used to help! Our top tip would be to research some different breathing exercises or videos on meditation to help you find that relaxing and controlled headspace.
5. Exercise
If you are able to do so, exercise can be a brilliant way to help you take your mind off things and control your energy in a positive way. Exercise can take many forms and depends on your health and ability, but even a short walk can be so powerful to help you get back on track! Of course, regular exercise has so many physical health benefits, but it also can work wonders with your mental health too. So, take your time and find an exercise that might help. From yoga and Pilates, to swimming or a short walk in your local area, exercise can be a brilliant coping mechanism.
We are not medical experts in the field of mental health, but we do our best to support our clients as best as possible during this challenging time. There are some fantastic resources and charities out there, including Mind (https://www.mind.org.uk/) and The Samaritans (https://www.samaritans.org/) if you need an expert to speak to.
If you require our specialist cleaning services following a crime scene, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by completing a contact form, calling us 0330 118 1019 or email: hello@aftercarecleaning.co.uk.