Video Transcription
Supporting yourself after a natural disaster
Australia is a land of extremes, and unfortunately, sometimes we experience natural disasters.
What if your world was turned upside down by a flood, fire, or cyclone? How would you make sense of the devastation, the loss of friends, family, pets, your home, and belongings?
How might you feel if you’d been through something like this?
I felt helpless, like I couldn’t do anything. Waiting, not knowing—it really freaked me out.
We lost pretty much everything—our house, pets, photos.
It’s easy to say possessions don’t matter as long as my family survived, but it isn’t as simple as that.
Reality hit me when I went back to school. I couldn’t handle it.
I tried not to think about it.
After a natural disaster, young people can experience a range of emotions. It can be so full on that it feels like nothing could ever go back to normal again.
What can help after going through such a traumatic experience? How do you put the pieces of your life back together after a natural disaster?
Young people can experience a range of emotions like shock, grief, sadness, and despair.
You might be overwhelmed by a feeling of powerlessness. Some of you might feel guilty that you’ve survived if you know other people who didn’t.
On top of these emotions, you might find everyday things like eating and sleeping become really difficult.
These feelings and behaviors can go on for a while after the disaster has passed, but we would usually expect strong emotions to start to settle after about 6 weeks.
When there are significant reminders, such as anniversaries, or when there is a threat of another natural disaster, these feelings might come back.
Recovery takes time, and it’s different for everyone. The type of help you might need will vary.
You might need some practical help with basic stuff like housing, school, travel, getting around, or you might need help with how you’re coping with your thoughts and feelings.
After the initial event settles, your support needs will change.
There are some things you can do for yourself that can really help.
Trying to keep up your normal daily routine, like going to school and work, eating three meals a day, going to bed around the same time each night, and getting up around the same time each morning.
It’s helpful to let friends or family know how you’re going, what you’re thinking and feeling, and how you’re coping with things.
It can help you and others be aware of supports that might be helpful at different times.
Some people are tempted to block out feelings with alcohol or other drugs. It’s not such a great idea and can, in fact, make recovering from a natural disaster more difficult.
If you’re feeling really overwhelmed, like you can’t cope, it is a good idea to get professional help, especially if your feelings and thoughts are stopping you from doing what you’d normally do, like going to school or work and spending time with your friends.
Some options for support are your local GP, school counsellor, or check out if there’s a local Headspace in the area.
Now there are online options like eheadspace.org, where you can chat with a counsellor online.
So, there are some simple things that you can do for yourself: get regular sleep, eat well, and get into a daily routine as soon as you can.
It’s important to remember that recovery takes time. It’s different for everybody, and it’s okay to ask for help.
After experiencing a natural disaster, it can feel like your world has fallen apart. It’s a really difficult time, but believe it or not, things do get better, and the pieces can be put back together.
Video by headspace
