Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The day after the tragedy at the Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, some people are still coming to grips with the horror of the chaos that unfolded.
"People expect to go to celebrations like this and they expect to be safe," said Dr. Michael Cummings, Vice Chair of Psychiatry with the University at Buffalo, on Thursday during an appearance on WBEN.
"Unfortunately, because of other mass shootings, nationally and internationally as well as locally, events like this can be a huge trigger for people. It can be a very difficult time."
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Cummings, who is also Associate Medical Director at ECMC, specifically
mentioned Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety. ASD occurs in the first month after such an event. If these symptoms last longer than a month, it's often diagnosed as PTSD.
"For most people these things subside over time. But PTSD can affect your life for a very long time, sometimes forever," he said.
For years, it was thought that PTSD was something that a person had to experience first hand. But that has changed.
"In today's age of social media, people can experience vicarious trauma, from watching other people experience it through the media or just by talking about it. Given that it was a tragedy and was associated with sports, it will be on every aspect of media for quite a long time.
Cummings said people need to be aware that if they're feeling distressed or having problems to reach out to their primary care provider, or mental health professionals or their church to find support.
"It's a very real thing and it will affect people who are just talking about it, not just the people who experienced it."