SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It’s a night to welcome the Year of the Rabbit in Balboa Park.
A celebration on a chilly night coming on the heels of another chilling mass shooting in Monterey Park for parents like Minh Hong.
“We struggled if we should come because of safety issues and stuff. But, you know, we just didn’t want to live in fear,” Hong said.
But there are those who may become pre-conditioned to think about the worst following all of the mass shootings we’ve seen or been involved in over the years.
“Or even vicariously through a family member, that may develop a hyper-vigilance that lasts; that goes on and that association of large social events,” Dr. Shiva Ghaed said.
Ghaed is a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety and trauma disorders.
She’s worked with patients in the field for two decades and survived the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017.
“And I’m so saddened that there were people that didn’t,” Ghaed said.
Ghaed tells ABC 10News the most common outcome is that people do recover from these tragic event but there are some who do not.
Being able to talk about it and recounting the events in not in a skewed way are some ways people can start the path to recovery.
“The avoidance plus the story telling that’s not quite accurate; those two things is actually what leads to the development of PTSD,” Ghaed said. “And that’s why we see so many people actually recover because most people can walk away from this and say, ‘Oh my God, it was horrific, and it was random.”
Some people are here tonight to not avoid these very public events like Monterey Park and not let these tragedies control their lives.
“It’s scary. But, we have to come and support the community and come out of the shadow. And just celebrate so that we can offer our culture and experience with other people,” Hong said.
Ghaed said that if you are avoiding things that remind you of the traumatic event or even talking about the event months after, that it’s time to go get help.
