Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Introduction
5 Seek Support
7 Keep a Schedule
9 Identify and Express Your Emotions
11 Take Good Care of Yourself
13 Practice Healthy Coping Strategies
15 Reduce Your Stress
17 Know the Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 3
IntroductionNatural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires are on the rise. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 103 natural disasters occurred in the U.S. in 2017, ending 356 lives and causing $165.3 billion in damages.1
A natural disaster can forever change your life. The event itself is often terrifying, and the aftermath can be extremely stressful. Natural disasters commonly result in trauma, which is a negative psychological and emotional response to a distressing event.
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 4
Trauma has an important effect on brain function. According to a study published in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, trauma reduces the volume of the hippocampus, the center of emotion and memory.2 It also increases activity in the amygdala, the brain region responsible for the stress response, including feelings of fear and anxiety. Due to these changes in the structures of the brain, a number of mental disorders can result from trauma. These include borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, which is the most common trauma-related disorder.
While you can't control the weather or the shifting of tectonic plates, you can prepare for disaster by creating a survival kit and having a family disaster plan. Equally important is knowing how to handle the trauma that may result from disaster. Trauma can make it difficult to cope in the days and weeks following a disaster, and it can leave you feeling hopeless and paralyzed.
Here, then, are things you can do to reduce the impact of trauma and ensure good mental health throughout the disaster and during the recovery phase.
Seek Support
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 6
Getting support from others is a major factor in overcoming the negative effects of a traumatic event. Local faith-based organizations often provide support and counseling following a natural disaster. FEMA and state and local governments may also arrange crisis counseling for those affected by the disaster. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers the Disaster Distress Helpline, a national hotline that provides around-the-clock crisis counseling for those experiencing distress related to a human-caused or natural disaster.3
Taking advantage of crisis counseling and joining a support group can go a long way toward helping you cope with your feelings and reduce symptoms of trauma.
Keep a Schedule
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 8
Especially if you've lost your home in a natural disaster, your regular schedule is disrupted, and your life may feel chaotic and out of control. That's why it's important to set and follow a routine each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control.4
Simple routines help you pull your daily life back together and restore a normal sense of the passage of time. Try to arise and go to bed at the same time each day, and fill your day with activities that feel normal to you, such as reading the paper, grooming, spending time with family and preparing meals.
Identify and Express Your Emotions
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 10
Emotions run fast and high during and after a natural disaster. Taking the time to process your emotions and understand your experiences afterwards is central to emotional healing. Emotional processing involves identifying and allowing yourself to fully experience the emotions you're feeling, which may include fear, anger, sadness or helplessness.
Relating your experiences is a good way to begin processing your emotions. A support group enables you to tell your story and hear others' stories, which can help everyone involved sort out the sequence of events and begin to put meaning to the experience. Over time, sharing your story and processing the associated emotions will reduce the emotional pain and help you return to feeling "normal" again.
Taking the time to process your emotions and understand your experiences
afterwards is central to emotional healing.
Take Good Care of Yourself
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 12
Self-care is essential following a natural disaster. Taking good care of your physical, mental and emotional health is central to getting through the often-complicated aftermath of a disaster. A high level of self-care ensures you have the physical and mental strength and energy to take care of numerous details.
Eat healthy foods as much as possible, and stay well-hydrated. Try to get at least seven hours of sleep each night, and exercise for at least a half hour a day. Spend time relaxing and enjoying yourself every day, and continue to identify and allow yourself to feel the emotions that surface. Seek support, and offer support to others.
Practice Healthy Coping Strategies
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 14
Many people with trauma turn to drugs or alcohol to numb negative feelings, repress memories, stave off nightmares and help them fall asleep. Trauma is a common underlying cause of substance abuse and addiction. A study in the journal Addictive Behaviors reports that up to half of all people in recovery from an addiction have a lifetime history of trauma.5
Turn to healthy coping strategies for relief from stress, fear, anger and other negative emotions. Meditation can help ease anxiety and reduce negative emotions as well as help your body respond better to stress. Exercise is a natural mood-lifter, and it improves sleep and increases energy. Spending quality time with the people you love can help reduce feelings of isolation, and engaging in activities you enjoy reduces stress and improves your overall quality of life.
Up to half of all people in recovery from an addiction have a lifetime history of trauma.
Reduce Your Stress
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 16
Natural disasters cause major stress, which leaves you more susceptible to physical and mental illnesses. The body's stress response includes elevated blood pressure and heart rate, muscle tension and an increase in body temperature. Stress leaves you feeling anxious and overwhelmed and makes it difficult to attend to the tasks at hand. Reducing your stress as much as possible puts you in a better position to deal with the aftermath and cope with the trauma of a natural disaster.
Take time to identify and list the things that are giving you stress. Where you can, take even small actions to help you feel more in control of things. Allow yourself to let go, for now, of the stress caused by things you can't change. As much as possible, reside in the present moment, where positive change happens.
Deep breathing, exercise, and meditation are powerful stress reducers:
y Deep breathing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and leaves you feeling calmer. When you feel your body's stress response kick in, find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes. Close your eyes, and breathe slowly and deeply.
y Exercise lowers stress hormone levels and releases feel-good brain chemicals that promote feelings of calm and wellbeing. Take a brisk walk to reduce your stress on the spot.
y Meditation helps to quiet the brain chatter that can leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed. According to Harvard Medical School, with regular practice, meditation changes the structure of your brain. It reduces the volume of the amygdala, which is responsible for the stress response, and it increases the volume of the hippocampus, which is linked to memory, emotional regulation and sense of self.6 With regular practice, meditation changes
the structure of your brain.
Know the Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 18
Trauma is a normal response to distressful events. Over time, the negative emotions, insomnia, nightmares, and other issues caused by trauma usually fade, and life begins to feel normal again. But many people develop more severe symptoms of trauma, or the symptoms don't fade over time. This is post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, which can occur immediately after a trauma or months or years later.
Knowing the signs and symptoms of PTSD is essential for ensuring you or someone you love can recognize it and get help if it occurs. PTSD is entirely treatable, and getting treatment will dramatically improve your quality of life and sense of wellbeing. Left untreated, PTSD can last for years.
Not everyone will experience all of the symptoms of PTSD, which can range from mild to severe. However, the symptoms that are present will interfere with your quality of life and sense of wellbeing.
Signs and symptoms of PTSD include:
y Nightmares
y Insomnia
y Fear and anxiety
y Deep anger
y Depression
y Flashbacks
y Intrusive and disturbing thoughts
y An increased startle response
y Inability to concentrate
y Withdrawal from friends or family
y Suicidal thoughts
A number of therapies are used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT,) dialectical behavior therapy (DBT,) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). These therapies help you restore feelings of safety and wellbeing, effectively cope with negative emotions and end nightmares and intrusive thoughts.
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 19
If you experience symptoms of PTSD, the sooner you get help, the better. A licensed mental health professional can help you work through traumatic experiences and end the symptoms of PTSD.
Natural disasters are inevitable, but you can improve your recovery process by taking good care of yourself and addressing the symptoms of trauma as they unfold. Trauma can seriously interfere with your ability to cope with and recover from a natural disaster, but doing what you can to mitigate its symptoms will help you come out the other side intact and more resilient than ever.
SOURCES
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573 | 20
1. Insurance Information Institute. Facts + Statistics: U.S. catastrophes. Retrieved from: https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-us-catastrophes
2. Bremner J. D. (2006). Traumatic stress: effects on the brain. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 8(4), 445-61.
3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Disaster Distress Helpline. Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline
4. Department of Health and Human Services. Helping Families Deal with the Stress of Relocation After a Disaster. Retrieved from: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/health_professionals/documents/relocationstress_508.pdf
5. McGovern, M. P., Lambert-Harris, C., Acquilano, S., Xie, H., Alterman, A. I., & Weiss, R. D. (2009). A cognitive behavioral therapy for co-occurring substance use and posttraumatic stress disorders. Addictive behaviors, 34(10), 892-7.
6. Mineo, L (2018). With mindfulness, life’s in the moment. The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved from: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/less-stress-clearer-thoughts-with-mindfulness-meditation
TruVida Recovery is accredited by the Joint Commission to serve men and women in Orange County with holistic, evidence-based addiction treatment plans catered to each individual. We thoroughly prepare our clients to live fulfilling lives in recovery by providing a full continuum of care. We believe the client's support system is crucial to long-term sobriety, and encourage families to participate in the healing process of treatment.
www.TruVida.com | (800) 218-1573
