anxiety is normal after montreal shootings, mental health experts say. here’s how to move forward

it's normal to feel anxious in the aftermath of a traumatic event like last week's shootings in montreal, mental health experts say.a police officer, an innocent bystander and a suspect were killed on june 22 when a gunman who apparently adhered to incel ideology opened fire in côte-des-neiges in broad daylight.montreal psychologists say widely publicized acts of violence can increase anxiety when they occur close to home because they disrupt one's sense of safety by making an unlikely scenario feel much more likely."the reality is this is not a situation that we see every day — not at all, especially not in montreal," said vanessa delisle, crisis psychologist at st. mary's hospital and founder of bridge mental health and therapy services in westmount. "many of us, in response to that, probably feel a threat to our life in some way, shape or form. it's out of the ordinary, and our brain doesn't know how to process it. what ends up happening is the memories just kind of stay at the forefront."for some, that can translate into symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-vigilance and avoidance."all of that is normal in the context of this just happening," delisle said. it's important to normalize the reaction to move forward, said rachel langevin, psychologist and associate professor in the counselling psychology program at mcgill university. she warned there's a difference, however, between making space for the emotions and spiralling."if you notice that you're starting to ruminate, or forming scenarios of ‘oh my god, this might happen again, i might be caught in this or someone i love might be caught in this,’ it's important to find ways to cut it short," langevin said. "thinking about something else, going for a walk, listening to music, watching a tv show might be ways to try to put aside these unhelpful thoughts."she suggested turning to "any ways we know work well for us to regulate our emotions" and advised against changing habits, which could make the feelings linger longer."some people might tend to ... change the way they navigate the city," langevin said. "it's important to keep living your life the way you used to live it, because otherwise you're starting to avoid, and avoidance is a very important mechanism that entertains anxiety and maintains anxiety instead of helping it pass." delisle added that it's important to stick to basic routines, talk to people and get support."social support is your most crucial protective factor," she said. in an era during which horrific events are shared widely online, it can also be helpful to limit exposure to such content, the experts said. that includes videos — like the one depicting the deaths of the officer and the bystander shared online — and media coverage more generally."if someone came to me with this problem for treatment, one of the first things i would say to them is stop looking," said marilyn fitzpatrick, psychologist and professor emerita at mcgill. "you know what happened. ... you don't need to watch it 53 times. you don't need to read everyone and their brother's commentary about it. this is not useful. this is not in the realm of information that we need in order to navigate the world. we don't need to see upsetting things over and over and over again."repeated exposure can make the threat feel exaggerated, fitzpatrick explained. "the stories we tell ourselves seem true or not true based on repetition," she said. "the more often we tell ourselves something, the more true it seems." if you're feeling unsafe in the city in the aftermath of the shootings, she recommends paying attention to "the story we tell ourselves about safety.""the story i tell myself about montreal is: it's a relatively safe place, as cities go. it's not the safest place in the world, probably, but it's certainly not the most unsafe," fitzpatrick said. "watch your mind at work and if you catch yourself repeating a really bad story to yourself, just ask the question: how true is this and how helpful is it?"kthomas@postmedia.com