Sandy Hook Anxiety

I can relate to exactly how you're feeling. Dec 14 2012 was a terrifying day in the Sandy Hook area. No one knew what was going on until after it had happened. While we stoodin silence, we came up with thousands of scenarios in our heads as to why we were in lockdown. Was there someone in our school? Were they dangerous? Were we going to die? What if they have a gun? Everyone stood thinking, wondering, hypothesizing. Once lockdown was released and we learned the horrifying truth, no one spoke a word. We continued to worry. We continued to panic. What if someone like that comes to our school? They sent us back to class and I remember sitting in Spanish and our teacher wasn't teaching but all of a sudden she said "Silence will make things worse." She knew our heads were spinning with terror. She knew that the longer we kept things to ourselves, the more the scary thoughts would multiply and intensify and blow out of proportion. We spent the rest of class talking. We said everything and anything that was on our mind. Why? What? How? What if? The truth is, your mind is a scary place. It twists things and makes feelingsmuch more intense than normal. Don't be afraid to talk. Talk about it. Ask questions. Get informed. What you're going through is completely normal. Every December 14th will be a haunting reminder of that day. But it will only become more haunting if you keep it all bottled up. Reaching out on here is a good start! Talk to a guidance counselor or trusted teacher. Express your fear of such an incident. Sometimes when you say things out loud you mayrealize that your mind has made up completely unrealistic and almost silly scenarios and made them seem real to you.

The number one point here is to talk. Open up. Don't let your mind take over. My best advice is to educate yourself. Learn about school safety and personal safety. This may help you feel safer and more at ease when it comes to situations like this happening to you. Realize that your fear is normal. One of my counselors told me about a week after the tragedy that whenever a doubt or a scary thought came into my mind, immediately tell someone I trusted. Don't let it sit in your head and fester and inflate into a completely irrational fear. If you've ever got anything in your head that you need to get out before it takes over, feel free to message me! I've been exactly where you are and I can try to offer the same advice the grief and trauma counselors gave to us.