Take Care of Your Mental Health After A Disaster

-

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during and after a disaster. Everyone reacts differently, and your own feelings will change over time. Notice and accept how you feel. Taking care of your emotional health during an emergency will help you think clearly and react to the urgent needs to protect yourself and your family. Self-care during an emergency will help your long-term healing.

Take the following steps to cope with a disaster:

Take care of your body– Try to eat healthy well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Connect with others– Share your concerns and how you are feeling with a friend or family member. Maintain healthy relationships, and build a strong support system.
    
Take breaks– Make time to unwind and remind yourself that strong feelings will fade. Try taking in deep breaths. Try to do activities you usually enjoy.
    
Stay informed– When you feel that you are missing information, you may become more stressed or nervous. Watch, listen to, or read the news for updates from officials. Be aware that there may be rumors during a crisis, especially on social media. Always check your sources and turn to reliable sources of information like your local government authorities.
    
Avoid too much exposure to news– Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories. It can be upsetting to hear about the crisis and see images repeatedly. Try to do enjoyable activities and return to normal life as much as possible and check for updates between breaks.

Get out of the house - If it’s safe to do so, remove yourself from the lure of news channels and spinning thoughts. Whether your family is feeling physically trapped, by loss of power or a long stint indoors as the weather rolled through, or emotionally trapped, by sadness weighing heavy on their hearts, offer a way out. Visit a friend or a business that’s reopened. Even a walk around the block will work wonders to help all of you feel less cooped up and to begin processing.
    
Seek help when needed– If distress impacts activities of your daily life for several days or weeks, talk to a clergy member, counselor, or doctor, or contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) helpline at 1-800-985-5990.


Look out for these common signs of distress:

  • Feelings of feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration
  • Changes in appetite, energy, and activity levels
  • Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
  • Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
  • Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes
  • Worsening of chronic health problems
  • Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Facts About Radio Communication Distance

-
Image
What’s the range for a radio to communicate with someone? How many miles? This is almost the most common question people ask before getting a new two-way radio. But if you check the answers for the same radio, you may find many disappointed people saying that only 0.5 mile, but also some saying 3 miles, 5 miles, and so on. Why they're so different? Because the type of terrain and equipment can greatly affect the talking range. You often see ads for two-way radios saying "up to 36 miles" or more. Here the keyword in the advertisement are "up to". This maximum range is more theoretical than realistic. So how far can you really expect to talk? The key considerations that affect range are: signal type, antenna, obstructions, and signal strength (wattage). No single factor is a silver-bullet to extend your communication range. But taken in combination, they can mean the difference between getting 1/2 mile range, vs 6 miles or more. This article from Baofeng discusses...
Read more

What Gets Destroyed in an EMP (And How to Protect)

-
Image
EMP is a low-probability threat, but one with potentially high consequences should it occur. Dr. Arthur Bradley, a recognized expert in EMPs, their effects and how to protect against them, has a video where he offers suggestions on how to protect against an EMP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNBj3nkVqEQ Dr. Bradley's recommendations are based on his research and would seem to offer a reasonable degree of protection against EMP... unlike some suggestions we see in "prepper" groups suggesting such things as using a microwave oven as a Faraday cage. There is a common misconception that a microwave oven is a Faraday cage. It is not. Not even a close approximation. Go in your kitchen and open the door of your microwave. Look at the mating surfaces between the door and oven. There is no bare conductive metal at all, usually power coated sheet metal or plastic on both surfaces. It is essentially *wide open* from an RF perspective except right at 2.4GHz. Attenuation at 2.4GHz...
Read more

Survivalist and Preparedness Blogs, YouTube Channels, and Downloads

-
Image
  There are a large number of Blogs that provide survivalist and preparedness information. Many of these Blogs are an excellent resource, others perhaps less so; but they all provide something of interest to someone. Here is a list to add to your own favorites: A Year Without the Grocery Store - https://ayearwithoutthegrocerystore.com/     American Civil Defense Association - https://tacda.org/ AMP-3 - https://www.amp-3.net/ AmRRON - https://amrron.com/ Ask A Prepper - https://www.askaprepper.com/ Backdoor Survival - https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/ Before It's News (Survival) - https://beforeitsnews.com/survival/ Brushbeater - https://brushbeater.org/ Bunker Basics - https://bunkerbasics.com/ Cascadia Survivalist - https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/ Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms - http://www.ccrkba.org/ Common Sense Home - https://commonsensehome.com/ DIY Homeschooler - https://diyhomeschooler.com/ Doom and Bloom Medicine - https://www.do...
Read more