TRAUMA: COPING & WHAT TO EXPECT

Dealing With Stress After A Natural Disaster contributed by Mental Health Assocation of San Diego www.mhasd.org If your community has been hit by a natural disaster, you’re probably trying to make sense of what happened and deal with the stress of the situation. These events create a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety for those directly and indirectly affected. In the days and weeks following the disaster, you may begin to have some of these common reactions: Common Reactions: • Disbelief and shock • Fear and anxiety about the future • Disorientation; difficulty making decisions or concentrating • Apathy and emotional numbing • Nightmares and reoccurring thoughts about the event • Irritability and anger • Sadness and depression click here for entire article

Traumatic Events: Dealing With the Emotional Aftermath contributed by Sara Hutter, LMFT What is a Traumatic Event? Gerry Smith, Director of Trauma Response Services with WarrenShepell Consultants, describes a traumatic event 'as one that falls outside the confines of a normal day-today experience. It is an event that is threatening to our own lives or welfare; or it is one that is threatening to the welfare or life of a friend or loved one. Smith points out that none of us is sure how we will react to this type of event. For instance, we are all given instruction on how to act during a fire drill. But when a fire actually happens, we may react quite differently. The reason? "The body takes over and the survival mechanism kicks in." says Smith. Chemicals that are released in the blood stream cause us to flee - to stay and attack or to react in a defensive way -depending upon the nature of the threatening situation. Many of our responses to a traumatic event are automatic and, therefore, unavoidable. click here for entire article