How is the Cielo Vista Mall Shooting impacting people’s mental health
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- On Wednesday around 5 P.M., a shooting occurred at the Cielo Vista Mall, leaving one dead and three others injured. Multiple shots were fired inside the mall's food court, causing panic for everyone inside the mall at the time of the shooting. As police searched for the suspect, hundreds of people were stuck inside the mall for hours. The shooting occurred right next door to the Walmart, where 23 Borderland residents were killed on August 3, 2019.
With the 2019 mass shooting in mind, Wednesday's shooting sparked a similar fear to what many experienced about four years ago. Comments on social media talked about how traumatizing, frightening, and emotional this shooting made people feel. Mental health is top of mind for victims of the recent shooting. ABC-7 spoke with mental health expert, and Director of the Crisis Intervention Team Andres Arvizu, on how this incident can impact people's mental health.
"When a traumatic event happens it is normal to have all those feelings. When it's actually a problem is when those problems continue after a month. And when those continue, that's when we have to ask for help," said Arvizu.
Having a good support system can take the burden off of yourself when it comes to coping with a traumatizing event. Arvizu said it is imperative to allow your brain to process difficult memories.
"The more we talk about the situation with someone who will listen to us, the more we talk about it, the more our brain is able to process it," he continued to say, "in therapy what we do is, we don't erase those memories, the memories will always be there but we change how we feel about them, thats what we can work on."
You are not alone in this battle to overcome a traumatizing event. Here are some resources for you, if you may be experiencing long-lasting negative symptoms from the trauma of either event. Emergence Health Network has a 24/7 Crisis Center located at 1601 E. Yandell Street in El Paso, that is open for anyone who may be going through a crisis. United Way has a crisis line for families. You can contact them at 915-775-2783 or visit their center at 6314 Delta Dr., El Paso, TX from Monday-Friday, 9 A.M.-5 P.M.
