- Follow all event-specific guidelines during and after an event regarding boiling water advisories, food safety and cleaning up contaminated materials
- Mental and emotional phases of a disaster:
- Pre-disaster
- Length – from a few minutes to months long, if known threat
- Feelings of fear, uncertainty and vulnerability
- Impact
- Shortest of disaster phases
- Range of intense emotions including shock, panic, confusion, disbelief
- Heroic
- Occurs after disaster strikes
- Rescue efforts driven by adrenaline
- Honeymoon
- High emotions that last for few weeks
- Community bonding, optimism and opportunity to assist others
- Disillusionment
- Length – lasts for months or years, can be triggered by anniversary of event
- Feelings of discouragement, stress, exhaustion, abandonment, and possible lead to substance use
- Reconstruction
- Begins one year after event and may last for years
- Sense of recovery and responsibility to rebuild life, adjust to new normal and continue grieving
- Pre-disaster
- Mental and emotional recovery:
- Help from friends and family
- Creative outlets like writing and art
- Healthy lifestyle through proper diet/sleep/exercise, avoiding alcohol and drugs
- Support groups for current or former substance abusers
- Children, those with existing mental health conditions or prior trauma survivors, and first responders and recovery workers are most affected
Children
- Observe any changes in attitude or behavior
- Pre-schoolers - thumb sucking, bedwetting, attachment anxiety, changes in sleep patterns, changes in appetite, new fear of the dark, seemingly withdrawn
- Elementary schoolers - anger, irritability, attachment anxiety, not wanting to go to school, attention issues, seemingly withdrawn
- Adolescents - changes in sleeping/eating patterns, irritability, increase in issues with others, excessive complaints of physical ailments, rule breaking, attention issues
- Support their emotional and psychological needs
- Set calm environment where they feel comfortable talking about recent event or expressing themselves through writing and drawing
- Be an empathetic listener, do not judge
- Limit media coverage exposure
- Return to normal daily routine
- Recognize and discuss people’s resiliency, compassion and humanity
- Do something positive together to help others in need