LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In the aftermath of the tragic shooting at UNLV that left three victims dead and another in the hospital, Channel 13 spoke to a mental health professional about ways to cope.
Psychotherapist Trudy Gilbert Eliot joined anchor Anjali Patel on Good Morning Las Vegas on Thursday, Dec. 7, to talk about healing and handling this trauma in a community that is already so familiar with this type of terrible loss.
"Unfortunately, a lot of that reaction does involve thinking in ways that can feel uncomfortable, a lot of very, very strong emotions, a lot of reactions that may be atypical for the person," Eliot said. "But this usually works its way through for most people in about 3 to 4 weeks."
Eliot recommends highly prioritizing sleep in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy.
"If you can get really good rest, you're going to facilitate your brain being able to work its way through all of this work," she said.
Eliot also suggests pulling your support system in tight, and ensuring you have people to talk through your feelings with on a daily basis.
While Eliot said many people are able to work their way through those initial, visceral emotions in 3 to 4 weeks, healing is a process that never ends. One October is evidence of that, as the valley continues to recover from that trauma.
"I encourage people to really prioritize overtime self care. Usually, if you are a person that's dealt with trauma in their past, you are going to have to prioritize self care in a much different way than a regular person might prioritize it," Eliot said.
She said it's important to constantly check in with yourself, acknowledge when you're having a bad day, and take care of yourself in ways that you've found to be effective.
"It's kind of like a fingerprint for each of us. Each of us have different things we do that seem to really help us. What might help me may not help you. People need to be able to understand that," Eliot said.
What makes this healing process especially difficult for faculty and students at UNLV is the fact that finals week is scheduled to begin next week, although there's no word yet on if those exams will begin as scheduled. The semester is winding down, and prior to the shooting, students were focused on their grades. How can they even think about turning their attention to their studies after something so traumatizing?
"That is a difficulty, and on the other hand, when we have something that necessitates some concentration, it can give us a little bit of relief from the otherwise constant thinking on the situation. So sometimes that can create a kind of counterbalance for them," Eliot said. "For some students, certainly, they may end up needing to utilize some of the structures that UNLV and every university is able to offer students in order to give them a little bit of extra time to complete that process of taking finals in case they're having a very adverse response."
Below are just a few of the resources available to those who may be struggling with their mental health in the aftermath of the UNLV shooting:
- Crisis support services are available to UNLV students through Student Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling (702) 895-3627 or emailing caps@unlv.edu.
- The Vegas Strong Resiliency Center is located at 2915 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 100, and open from 7:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Their phone number is (702) 455-AIDE (2433). Counseling provided through the VSRC focuses on trauma-related care.
