Red Cross - Putting Life Back Together After Emergencies

Life can come unstuck in many different ways. We all face unexpected events like illness, a car accident, and job changes. Less often, we face dramatic events like natural disasters or catastrophes like warfare. Getting through these events will be life-changing, and many people struggle for years. How can we make these profound experiences positive?

Trauma leaves its shadow throughout the entire body. Survivors can be left with physical injuries leading to pain disorders, and permanent disabilities (such as spinal injury or limb loss) that impact quality of life.

The brain is also affected by trauma. In the short-term, fatigue is common as the brain uses large amounts of energy trying to protect us from perceived threats, leaving us feeling emotionally, physically, and mentally depleted. This can make daily responsibilities and self-care activities feel impossible.

Feelings of confusion, being emotionally brittle, sleep problems, being unable to make decisions or plan, and obsessive thinking about “what if” or re-experiencing events are common reactions to disasters. Survivor guilt is also a normal reaction to extraordinary events.

Relationships also suffer as the brain gets “locked on” a hyper-alert state. So we over-react to everyday triggers like noises, people’s comments, efforts to help, and even the presence of others around us. Living with traumatic stress can make you highly reactive, constantly anxious, impulsive, and irrational at times.

Helpful tools for putting life back together include:

Limiting the amount of media coverage you watch, listen to, or read. There might be an urge to keep watching, but this repeats the trauma. Avoiding re-triggering allows you to focus instead on the small steps to recovery.

Take down time to do things that you enjoy. This sounds simple, but often after a disaster enjoyable activities become low priority as the task of reconstruction is viewed as more important. Down time gives the brain a rest and boosts good brain chemicals like BDNF and dopamine.

As soon as possible, get back into healthy living. Although your life might be disrupted right now, do what you can to eat a balanced diet and get some regular exercise, even if it’s just stretches or going for a walk.

Writing is one of the best healing activities. Journaling can help you make sense of your worries and concerns, get you focused on problem-solving, or identifying some practical steps you can take to address those issues.

Accept help when it’s offered. When disasters occur, they often affect people who have never before had a reason to access government or crisis support services. Getting help can be uncomfortable, but there is no reason not to accept the kindness of others now – you would help them if the situation was reversed.

Try to get back to a routine. This is very important, particularly if you have children. It can be hard at first because life may be chaotic, but returning to the pre-disaster routine as soon as possible gives you back a feeling of control.

Start planning for the future. Disasters up-end our lives and the plans we had but they don’t stop the future, they just require us to change direction. Look for new opportunities and ways to do things differently, re-evaluate your goals and find new strengths you can gain from the experience.

To find out more about your local Red Cross Emergency Support Team please call Kate Lemerle (Team Convenor) on 52112 or email bushtucka@iinet.net.au