Somali: La Qabsiga Walbahaarka Musiibo Kadib. Coping with stress after a disaster. скачать в хорошем качестве

Somali: La Qabsiga Walbahaarka Musiibo Kadib. Coping with stress after a disaster.

Coping with Stress after a Disaster If you have experienced or witnessed a disaster like a flood, severe storm, fire, earthquake, violence, or even an event like a car crash, it is normal to feel a range of different and difficult emotions, even if you and your loved ones are safe. If you have experienced other disasters or difficult events in the past, experiencing or seeing another disaster might bring back painful feelings and memories. You might feel the feelings in your body as well as your mind. You might have trouble sleeping or nightmares, have headaches or pain in different parts of your body, have trouble concentrating or remembering things. You might feel tension or tightness in your body. You might feel very tired. You might feel like you don't enjoy things you used to enjoy. You might feel stressed, nervous or scared. You might feel deep sadness or hopelessness. You might see things that happened in the past like a movie or pictures in your mind. You might feel guilty (even though you did nothing wrong and could not have prevented the disaster). You might feel sensitive to noises or smells around you that make you feel nervous, sick, or scared. Some of these feelings can happen during or soon after the disaster. Sometimes during a disaster or difficult experience, your mind protects you by not thinking about the experience and not feeling strong emotions, so you can focus on safety and on protecting the people you care about. Some of the reactions to the disaster or difficult experience come much later. Sometimes it is when you are finally feeling safe again that your mind and body start to have feelings about the difficult things you went through. There is no right or wrong way to feel after a disaster, and there are ways to get help and feel better. Take care of yourself. Try to eat healthy foods, drink water, avoid using alcohol and drugs, and get some exercise when you can. Even going for a short walk and taking deep breaths can help. Make a routine for your day. Try to eat meals at regular times and get enough sleep. Include a positive or fun activity in your schedule that you can look forward to each day or week. Reach out to friends, family, and community members. Talk to someone you trust about how you are doing. You might also want to talk to a counselor. Ask your primary care doctor for help finding a counselor. If you have children, talk to them. They may feel scared, angry, sad, worried, and confused. Let them know it’s okay to talk about their feelings. You know your child better than anyone and you should trust your feelings. If you believe that your child is not OK, you can reach out to other people who are trained to help. There are trained people in the community that both you and your child can talk to. Avoid spending too much time on social media and watching the news. Watching or reading lots of news stories about a disaster or traumatic event can increase your stress and worries, and can sometimes make you feel like you are living through the events again and again. Avoid making major life decisions. Doing things like switching jobs or careers can already be stressful and are even harder to adjust to after a disaster. Waiting until you feel calmer in your body and mind will make all decisions easier. If you’ve been directly affected by a disaster, you might have a lot of tasks to do (for example, finding a new place to live or or a place to stay temporarily, making an insurance claim if your home or property was damaged, or putting your child in a new school). Take these tasks one at a time and be patient with yourself. Please think about and find trusted people in your life and reach out to them for support. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. This could be a family member, friend, faith leader, case manager, or a counselor. It is absolutely okay to ask someone for help. You can also call the number 988 and talk to a counselor at any time for free. When a person answers the call, say [your language] to get an interpreter if you need one. These calls are private and your personal information will not be shared with anyone. Give yourself time to adjust after a disaster. This is a difficult time in your life and it is important to grieve if you have experienced loss. Try to be patient with changes in your emotions. Know that within a few months after a disaster most people will feel ok again and even though things are difficult, you are strong and you will recover.