Trauma Therapy

Physical needs and safety come first. In the days after a disaster or major trauma, you need to take care of you and your family’s physical needs and needs for safety, food and shelter.

In the days, weeks and months that follow, however, physical needs subside - and as you deal with grief, anxiety and maybe even trauma caused mental illness, your emotional and mental health needs may start to take precedence.

Some people who experience, witness or even witness second hand (via media) a disaster or major trauma may experience emotional and mental health symptoms that are lasting and harmful, and so it is important that you are able to recognize the signs and symptoms of disorders like post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a very treatable disorder that doesn’t necessarily get better without treatment.

Coping with Feelings of Anxiety and Stress after a Disaster

People who experience, witness or watch a disaster will often feel stressed and anxious in the days and weeks to follow. These feelings are normal, and for most people, will dissipate in time.

After a disaster, it’s normal to:¹

• Have trouble sleeping
• Feel angry, nervous, tense or anxious
• Cry very suddenly
• Want to stay away from other people (social isolation)
• Use drugs or alcohol as a way to cope (an unhealthy coping mechanism)
• Feel fatigued and or have trouble concentrating or have memory problems
• More

A disaster is a major upheaval and the closer you are to the event and the more destruction (and possibly death) that you witness, the more likely you are to feel emotionally volatile in the days and weeks after the event.

Most people will start feeling better in time, but there are steps you can take to start feeling more like your old self again a little quicker, such as:²

• Limiting your exposure to media reports on the event
• Contributing your time and energy to an organization working to help in the rebuilding effort
• Taking care of your physical well being by getting enough sleep, exercising and eating nutritious meals
• Returning to a normal routine as quickly as you can
• Talking about how you feel
• Looking to the good in your life

Some people who experience or witness a very traumatic event will experience a syndrome of symptoms called post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD symptoms may emerge in the days after the disaster or trauma, or they may emerge weeks or even months after the fact. Some of the symptoms of PTSD include:¹

• Nightmares or insomnia
• Flashbacks
• Trying to avoid anything that reminds you of the event
• Feeling emotionally numb
• Wanting to stay socially isolated
• Forgetting details of the traumatic event
• Losing interest in previously enjoyable activities
• Feeling angry or feelings of irritation
• An inability to focus
• Feeling afraid
• Being very easily startled
• More

To be diagnosed with PTSD, symptoms must endure for 1 month or longer. Although most people with PTSD will get better on their own in time, treatment can accelerate the healing process and is necessary for the 1 in 3 that won’t get better without help.

Psychotherapy (particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT) and certain medications are treatments that are proven to help people with PTSD.²

Read PTSD FAQ’s to learn more about this treatable disorder.

People with an existing mental health disorder are at greater risk to experience PTSD.

Helping Children after a Major Trauma

A disaster is a terrifying experience for a child, and children tend to have some commonly experienced fears that linger after the event. With the support and care of the family and community, most children start feeling better in time without the need for professional assistance, but some children will experience childhood PTSD and will need to get help. Because of this, it’s important that you be able to recognize the difference between a normal reaction to a traumatic event, and a stress disorder reaction.

After a major trauma, children often worry:

1. That the event will reoccur
2. That someone they love will die or get hurt
3. That they will be separated from family and left alone

Parents can help children overcome feelings of fear and worry (and the behavioral consequences of this anxiety) by:¹

• Encouraging children to follow normal routines and by limiting their exposure to news reports of the disaster
• Talking openly and honestly about what happened, in language kids can understand, and explaining the steps you’ve taken to ensure the family’s safety in the future
• Making sure that children’s physical needs are attended to
• Spending extra time with your children
• Letting children help with the rebuilding and recovery effort, as they are able to
• Maintaining expectations for appropriate behaviors and the following of family rules

Children are resilient and most kids will recover well in time. Some kids, however, are at risk of PTSD and other trauma caused mental illnesses, just as adults are. Children with PTSD will need professional help to ensure a full and happy recovery.

Consider a professional evaluation should you see symptoms of childhood PTSD that endure beyond 6 weeks. Some symptoms of childhood PTSD include:²

• Regressing to earlier stage behaviors
• Clinging to family
• Sleeping problems, such as bedwetting or nightmares
• Disruptive behaviors
• An inability to concentrate
• Physical aches and pains without an obvious cause
• Others

Comforting a Loved One Affected by a Disaster

Watching the TV news and worrying about friends and family immersed in the tragedy of a far-away disaster feels terrible.

When a person we love worries painfully about distant friends and family affected by a disaster, it can be hard to know what to say or do to ease the heartache.

Here’s what you can do to help:

• Be there to listen and offer your companionship. Know that you don’t need to have all the answers.
• Be patient with displays of irritability and other negative emotions
• Encourage good meals, sleep and exercise
• Pry your loved one away from the TV news and the internet, if you can

Dealing with Grief after a Disaster

Unfortunately, bereavement often comes as a sad piece of disaster’s aftermath.

Grief is a difficult but necessary process that eventually helps us come to terms with loss. In some cases, people can become mired in intense or overly lengthy grieving, a condition called complicated grief or traumatic grieving.

People who experience the sudden, violent or unexpected death of a loved one may be at greater risk of complicated grief or intense grieving that triggers another mental illness. Due to this increased risk of problematic grieving, it is helpful for friends and family of those grieving a loved one lost to disaster to learn the signs and symptoms of complicated grief, and to be ready to intervene, if warranted.

Some of the warning signs of complicated grieving include:

• Feeling stuck in the grieving process
• Experiencing very intense and long lasting grief
• Feeling distrustful of others
• Maintaining a fantasy relationship with a deceased loved one
• Hearing the deceased’s voice or seeing him or her
• Feeling desperate loneliness and longing
• Social isolation
• Others

Please read dealing with grief after a disaster, for more on complicated grieving.