JOHANNESBURG - Life may never return to what it was for survivors and families of victims of mass shootings.
That's according to psychologist Tholinhlanhla Dlamini-Ngcoya.
She warned that some may turn to substance abuse as a form of self-medication.
The most recent attack saw 18 people killed at a tavern in Wedela, Carletonville.
That same weekend, 10 people were killed at a shisanyama in Lwandle, Cape Town.
Another 11 people were killed in a shooting in KwaMakhutha, near Durban.
“Their normal is going to be different from what they knew life to be before. Now there is an experience that has changed and tainted the way they look at people and people's behavior at a place of joy and fun where they go to a tavern.
She said some substance abuse because they're trying to numb their feelings.
“And when we're talking about substance abuse, I need the families to also be aware that people can be addicted to prescribed drugs. They might be sleeping tablets.
"So a normal life as we know it is going to be different for the survivors, a normal life as we know it is going to be different for people around those survivors. They have to now move differently. They have to talk differently.”