Council and democracy

Coping with shock and distress

Often people find it hard to cope with everyday life when:

• someone close to them dies
• they are involved in or witness tragic accidents or violent incidents
• they or someone they are close to is faced with life threatening illness, severe disability, a major crisis or a personal tragedy.

We have written this to help you understand why you feel as you do, tell you about ways of coping and let you know where you can get more help if you need it.