How do you counteract bitchiness? By doing something useful.

So I'm passing this on:

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Dear Friends,

The emotional impact of war and other trauma can have devastating effects on the mental well-being of individuals of all ages. As much as possible, we must maintain our daily schedules and routines during difficult times, but it is important also for us to take care of our own emotional health, as well as that of individuals in our care.

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) designed a special Web site, Coping With Traumatic Events, to help families, schools, community organizations, and the general public deal with traumatic events. Located at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/, this Web page is intended to assist parents, teachers, emergency workers, and the community in general to learn ways to cope with mental and emotional stress, and to communicate effectively in times of crisis.

Parents visiting the Coping With Traumatic Events web page will find articles written especially for them on how they can provide proper mental health support to their children. Available at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/tips.asp#parents these articles contain tips and suggestions on the most effective ways to respond to children of different ages; describes signs and symptoms to watch for that may indicate stress or fear in a child, and coping strategies for dealing with fear and anxiety. A similar set of articles for teachers are located at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/tips.asp#teachers, while emergency workers can learn about managing job-related stress and more at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/tips.asp#workers.

From the main Coping With Traumatic Events web page visitors can also locate local crisis referrals and national mental health sources; view or download other material for school personnel; and link to related publications and other Web sites. A link for military families at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/links.asp#military provides access to assistance available especially for them.

Individuals needing additional information, services, or materials to help understand and talk about the emotional effects of trauma can call SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647; (TDD: 866-889-2647)--services are provided by a bilingual staff.

Please make this valuable resource available in your communities--to staff members, parents, parent associations, listserves, and visitors to your Web sites. You can put a link directly on your Web site to http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/, or to any sections that are of specific interest to you.

Thank you for lending your support to our efforts in helping our community, especially our children, to cope with the stress of difficult times.

Cecile Douglas
SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center
info@mentalhealth.org

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The National Mental Health Information Center (http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/) is a service of SAMHSA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Call 1-800-789-2647 for bilingual information services; (TDD) 866-889-2647.