Fear and Challenging Behaviour: A Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Study of Public Mass Shooting Attacks During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand.
Ek-Uma Imkome
PMID 41489260WHAT IT FOUND
Survivors described fear as a physical presence that disrupted sleep and daily routines.
They coped through shared silence with others, mindfulness, and creative expression. Care that validated their fear and offered non-verbal outlets supported recovery more than standard clinical explanations.
Key findings
01Participants experienced fear as an embodied state that persisted long after the event, causing sleep disturbances, auditory hallucinations, and avoidance of specific places.
02Recovery was supported by everyday rituals such as gardening, breathing exercises, and watching movies, rather than solely by formal medical interventions.
03Participants valued healthcare support that included expressive activities like drawing and group writing, which allowed them to process trauma without needing to verbally articulate their fear immediately.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only 15 participants from a single province in Thailand, limiting the transferability of findings to other cultural or geographic contexts. Data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced participants' access to support and their lived experience of isolation. The reliance on self-reported experiences and the interpretive nature of phenomenological analysis means the findings reflect the authors' interpretation of the participants' narratives. Participants were excluded if they had acute psychiatric instability or cognitive impairments, so the findings do not represent the experiences of those with more severe or complex mental health needs.
Declared interests
The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Thammasat University. No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the coping strategies described, such as gardening or mindfulness, are proven treatments for PTSD. These are subjective reports of what helped individuals in this specific context, not evidence of clinical efficacy.