I'm Glad #PMSH Stressed This:

 

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged MPs to get some rest and seek medical assistance if necessary in light of the stress many of them faced during a lengthy and tense lockdown following Wednesday’s attack by a gunman who was ultimately killed inside Centre Block’s Hall of Honour by security officials.

 

 

I'm very glad the Prime Minister stressed this point. 

 

We may like to tell ourselves we can "tough our way" through emotional trauma and just "get over it", but such is not the case.  Emotional injury is like physical injury - often it can be treated, but without appropriate response it can get worse.

 

PTSD is a case in point.  We're losing "tough" people to it, unnecessarily.

 

It's also worth pointing out that while it's an uncommon thing for such a stressful event to happen in our House of Commons, they do happen periodically in marginalized communities across our country.  The people who live, work or go to school near places where there are periodic shootings are exposed to this stress and often get no treatment, nor even acknowledgement of the impact of this stress on their lives.

 

I would encourage MPs to read up on the symptoms of PTSD and stress and look for them amongst each other.  I would also strongly encourage them to look closer at the impact of stress on Canadians across the board, but especially in marginalized communities.

 

A little bit of social emotional literacy/emotional resilience can go a long way.  A pound of prevention, etc...