| Note: Information based on brochure developed | | | | be honest about your feelings and to allow |
| by Project Heartland -- A Project of the | | | | yourself to acknowledge the sense of loss and |
| Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and | | | | uncertainty. |
| Substance Abuse Services in response to the | | | | • It is important to realize that, while |
| 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in | | | | things may seem off balance for a while, your life |
| Oklahoma City. Project Heartland was developed | | | | will return to normal. |
| with funds from the Federal Emergency | | | | • It is important to talk with someone |
| Management Agency in consultation with the | | | | about your sorrow, anger, and other emotions, |
| Federal Center for Mental Health Services. | | | | even though it may be difficult to get started. |
| • Whether or not you were directly | | | | • You may feel most comfortable talking |
| affected by a disaster or violent event, it is | | | | about your feelings with a teacher, counselor, or |
| normal to feel anxious about your own safety, to | | | | church leader. The important thing is that you |
| picture the event in your own mind, and to | | | | have someone you trust to confide in about your |
| wonder how you would react in an emergency. | | | | thoughts and feelings. |
| • People react in different ways to | | | | • It is common to want to strike back |
| trauma. Some become irritable or depressed, | | | | at people who have caused great pain. This desire |
| others lose sleep or have nightmares, others | | | | comes from our outrage for the innocent victims. |
| deny their feelings or simply "blank out" the | | | | We must understand, though, that it is futile to |
| troubling event. | | | | respond with more violence. Nothing good is |
| • While it may feel better to pretend the | | | | accomplished by hateful language or actions. |
| event did not happen, in the long run it is best to | | | | |