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After Disaster Strikes--What You Can Do
Whether or not you were directly affected by a disaster or violent event, it's normal to feel anxious about your own safety and that of your loved ones, to picture the disturbing event in your mind again and again, to experience nightmares, to feel hyper-alert and constantly on-edge, and to fearfully imagine how you would react in a similar emergency.
People react in different ways to trauma. Some become irritable or depressed, others lose sleep or have nightmares, others deny their feelings or simply "blank out" the troubling event.
While it may feel better to pretend the event did not happen, in the long run it is best to be honest about your feelings and to allow yourself to acknowledge the sense of loss and uncertainty.
It is important to realize that, while things may seem off balance for a while, your life will return to normal.
Resume your normal daily routines as fully as possible. This includes getting proper rest and observing a reasonable bedtime and start to your day.
Make extra efforts to surround yourself with those things that are especially beautiful to you--e.g., music, fresh flowers, poetry, literature (books on tape are good when you find it's too hard concentrate on reading), walks outdoors--and, very important, make room in each day to enjoy the company of people in your life whom you love.
It is essential to talk with someone about your sorrow, anger, fear, denial, guilt, confusion and other emotions, even though it may at first seem difficult to get started.
You may feel most comfortable talking about your feelings with family members and friends, a church leader, counselor, or other mental health professional. The important thing is that you have someone you trust to confide in about your thoughts and feelings.
Get adequate exercise and make a point of eating healthy foods and not skipping meals.
It is common to want to strike back at people who have caused great pain--to even to feel anger towards anyone or anything that feels in any way associated with the aggressor(s). This desire comes from our outrage for the innocent victims. We must understand, though, that it is futile to respond with more violence. Nothing good is ever accomplished by hateful language or actions.
Find ways to help those in need, e.g., volunteer work for a local charity; offering to read to school children, the elderly, or hospital patients; organizing local book or clothing drives; donating at the neighborhood blood bank; making contributions to those organizations providing relief help.
Be as patient and understanding with your own many conflicting emotions as you would be for a much-loved friend or family member.
While you will always remember the event, the painful feelings will decrease over time. You will eventually come to understand that, in learning to cope with tragedy, you have become stronger, more adaptable, and more self-reliant.
Source: The Center for Mental Health Services
Link: Find a Therapist
Link: Find a Clinical Trial for Depression
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