You see a lot of it on social media.
The response from people who are
either at the concert had no idea
what was going on or people who
are seeing those videos afterwards.
So we are chatting with KHQ
11 mental health expert.
Bill Prasad is a licensed
professional counselor about kind of
dealing with that trauma response.
And I want to start Bill with
talking about the folks who were
there like myself who who didn't
have any idea what was happening.
What kind of processes are they going?
Through right now.
Or when they discovered what had happened,
there probably being plagued
by the what if questions?
What if that were me?
What if that had happened to me?
What if that had happened to
one of my friends at times?
Those questions can take a person
into a really dark neighborhood.
People have to stay focused on
the what is and that luckily
they are OK as far as the music.
Many people like you went to that concert
because the music that rappers music.
Brought them joy.
Now the music isn't going
to trigger happiness.
It's probably going to
trigger a sense of terror.
That is, that really hits
home 'cause I can't imagine.
Now listening to Travis
Scott's music without.
Going back to that event, which again I'm,
I'm really struggling to reconcile
in my head because what I experienced
was clearly so different from what
hundreds of people went through.
I mean, 300 people were hurt.
How can people kind of work through that?
Well, first of all,
remember that sound is really connected
very well to your memories, Brandy.
I'm guessing that if I played
some music from your past,
maybe when you were in high school it
would take you right back to a place
and you'd feel a certain emotion.
That's what's going to
happen here for a while.
Some of the early experiences
that people might have,
they might become startled
easily if they hear a noise,
or maybe hear some people yelling.
They might have some problems sleeping.
Their appetites might be disrupted.
They might have extra,
maybe have additional situations where
they feel an extra level of irritation,
or at times they might just feel numb.
A person has to remember that in the first
30 days post this type of situation.
Those are all pretty normal
reactions and then Brandy.
If you take a look at one's past,
an individual has to remember.
Do they have trauma in their past
where they were they at Santa Fe?
For the high school shooting were
they here for Hurricane Harvey?
Are they a sexual assault survivor?
Are they a domestic violence survivor?
Having gone through some of those things,
this particular incident might also trigger
them and we have to understand that.
You brought up the symptoms to watch for it,
you know so many of the people in
this crowd that I saw were young
teens late teens into their 20s.
They're young people.
What should parents lookout for or
how should parents respond if they
start to see some of these symptoms
in their kids who went to the show?
The first thing that parents need to keep
in mind is that teenagers have a greater
propensity to develop post traumatic
stress disorder as compared to adults.
So if you see a teen that is
having some problems sleeping that
at times the teen is not eating,
maybe they're isolating.
Maybe they're more angry, more irritable,
and they also cannot focus on
their studies if they're starting
to lose interest in some of the
activities that they used to like,
those might be indicators that the
teenager needs some additional help,
perhaps in the form of a counselor.
Keep in mind that in the first 30 days
after a traumatic incident like this.
People will have certain reactions.
These are normal reactions,
but once we get to that 30 day period,
the majority of people will
see their symptoms subside.
If their symptoms don't subside or
they get worse, that's a big red flag.
You can't diagnose post traumatic
stress disorder in the first 30 days.
It's only 30 days and more after
the incident.
Fascinating, I didn't know that
another component to all this is
some of the video that's coming out.
It is graphic. It is brutal.
It shows what some of these folks
went through in these pockets where
they're falling to the ground,
scrambling to get back up,
gasping for air as people
want to learn more about what
happened at Astro World Festival.
There, they're watching these videos
and it sort of triggers this.
Cycle of seeing more of taking that in
and then and then wanting to see more
because they're trying to get answers.
How do how do folks cope with that?
Right, seeing that video again
and again can be horrifying and
traumatizing during the pandemic,
people, especially kids,
have spent more and more
time in front of screens.
And if you're seeing that video
again and again, imagine the trauma
is like a fire in a fireplace.
That fireplace in that fire
will eventually die out,
but if you keep looking at videos,
it's like tossing wood on that fire
that we really have to pay attention.
The amount of videos that were watching
parents really have to pay attention.
To how much time their kids are
spending in front of screens and try
to make an effort to reduce that time.
Brandy some of the research that
came out that took a look at
African American men in the months
after looking at pictures of
African American men being killed.
Those African American men in the
90 days where they watched some of
those videos got to a point where
many of them could be diagnosed
with an anxiety disorder or
major depressive disorder.
Major depression,
so there is evidence that supports.
If you see these videos and
these images again and again,
it is not helpful.
And if you're wondering well,
why would someone just keep
looking at those videos?
They're looking for some answers.
They're looking for some closure.
They're looking for some way out a way out,
but watching those videos is
not the way to go.
It all goes back to that.
What if, right, it's really easy
to put yourself in that situation,
imagining if you were
just a little bit closer,
or if you'd been there,
or any of it, you just get
in a really dark headspace,
right? And in that dark
headspace sometimes are widow.
What if questions we connect
them to the darkest scenario?
It isn't, what if and what
if I've been able to get out?
It's usually what if.
And what if I had gotten hurt?
What if my girlfriend or my partner
or my spouse had been hurt or killed?
It's not a good place to go.
Bill, you are always such a great resource.
Was there anything else that you wanted
to mention that you think would be useful
for the folks at home watching this?
Yes, in this time period,
right after the event,
it's important that you make sure
you understand what your past and
what may continue to trigger you.
Talk to people getting exercise.
Make sure you eat well.
Meditate, yoga, whatever.
Those things are that you
have done in the past.
Please do them again.
Bill, thank you so much for your
time and and for your knowledge.