Are local or global situations causing you to feel distressed or anxious? Perhaps you’re at direct risk of social unrest, disease, terrorism, conflict, violence, or war. This might be a recent emergency, or represent historic and systematic neglect, abuse, or danger. You may be being specifically targeted because of your race, gender, disability, sexuality, faith, or other factors beyond your control. You may have had some forewarning about events – or they may have come as a sudden shock. The threats you’re facing may be in the form of immediate financial, physical, or emotional harm.

Alternatively, you may be exposed to events impacting on other people via the media, through conversations with friends, or awareness of world events that are making you feel unhappy or afraid. If you already have an existing physical or mental health condition or disability this may be exacerbated by knowing about other hazards that could be affecting you – or those you love. Maybe you aren’t even immediately familiar with people facing maltreatment but you are still distraught on hearing about their situation and wish to do something practical to help.

Below are a number of resources for you to use to help yourself, or to share with others who might benefit from them. All are designed to be adapted to suit different circumstances depending on where you are and what the problems are that you are facing. If you are not directly at risk and want to avoid reading about issues that might make you more anxious, skip to the last section on self-care.

Mental Wellbeing

This guide to understanding and delivering Psychological First Aid (PFA) is created for all individuals and communities who are coping with disasters and crises (including the aftermath of war or terrorism) and includes free tools and resources (in multiple languages) for immediate use; plus links to courses for training for those whose work as practitioners or activists may require longer term delivery of PFA. The Activist Handbook has guides on understanding burnout, anxiety and stress.

Physical health and first aid

Knowing how to give first aid is an essential skill. You may be able to access training through your workplace, local community centres, or via providers like the Red Cross or St John Ambulance (check where you live for regional provision). These organisations offer in person and online training courses and stand alone guides (see links for more details) alongside first aid apps (examples here and here).

In any emergency it’s important to recognise your abilities and limitations and assess the situation thoroughly before proceeding. Use the DRSABCD approach. First check for danger to both you and any casualties. If it’s safe to proceed then assess a casualty’s responsiveness. Send or call for help.  Check the casualty’s airway, if they’re breathing and give CPR and use a defibrillator if necessary. This is explained in this short video.

The International Red Cross have produced First Aid in armed conflicts and other situations of violence available in multiple languages. Hesperian have a range of health guides in multiple languages on a variety of health and development topics for those who lack access to affordable and accessible services. Their most famous text Where there is no doctor and Where women have no doctor (particularly the chapters on childbirth) may be essential to you or your community in emergency situations.

For those involved in more direct action, The Commons Social Change Library has this resource Street Medic Pro-Tips: Medical and First Aid Support at Protests and Direct Actions by the Melbourne Street Medic Collective for those providing first aid during protests, demonstrations and periods of unrest. While the open access Riot Medicine books are available with information for people in hostile or dangerous settings with or without clinical training.

Generally, advice for anyone at risk of physical harm or with health problems or injuries is to call the emergency services (fire service, paramedics, police, or coastguard as appropriate). Noting, also, that these may not be available – or there may be issues of trust. If someone is sick, injured, or at risk of harm and asks you to fetch emergency help, honour their request.

Personal and environmental safety

Keeping safe is more than your wellbeing and other people’s welfare. There may be situations where you, family and friends need greater planning and protection.

With climate change the number of natural disasters are increasing this may include risk of flood, fire, storms, or extreme temperatures; alongside less common events like earthquakes or volcanoes. The CDC have guidance on Natural Disasters and Severe Weather: Before, During and After.

Wiki-voyage offers a range of safety tips for travellers including information on what to do in war zones or areas of conflict. This may be helpful if you, or someone you are supporting needs to escape a dangerous situation in an emergency.

If you are protesting, defending your home or community, or involved in activism you should be aware of your safety and those around you. Taking advice on how to protest, community safety and your rights is essential if time allows before demonstrating. There’s also this (US focused) advice for protesting if you’re an immigrant. The first aid resources in the above may also help during  a protest or occupation, while this post from the Reader’s Digest explains what to bring to a protest.

Journalists or those covering riots, conflicts and invasions or other violent or dangerous situations may find these sixteen safety tips from the European Federation of Journalists useful (although it is recommended anyone working as a journalist should seek specific safety training directly from their employer or union). If you’re working with translators and interpreters there is a multi-language guide here from Red-T on ensuring their wellbeing is not compromised by your actions.

Self Care (including care if you’re not directly affected but still upset by the news)

It’s common during and after a crisis to not know what to do or feel so weighed down by events you cannot concentrate or care for yourself or others. These two guides may help. The first is from me, writing in the Telegraph, about how to cope when life seems frightening and upsetting the other is by therapist Tania Glyde on When the world has changed forever – self care in a collective crisis. Both of these posts provide ideas for tackling loneliness, isolation, fear and distress – with links to additional sources of support and help. They are particularly focused on those who are living in times of uncertainty or unrest.

Meanwhile, regardless of wider social or cultural situations happening around you, other life events can also keep on happening. These might be positive or negative – but you may still require assistance in coping with them – in which case a list of support services and helplines can be found here.

Disclaimer – all guides linked to above are the responsibility of their individual authors and are not a replacement for legal advice, mental or physical care or therapy and should be used at your own risk. 

Last updated: 06.11.24