With the recent Alemeda fire in Oregon, several expressed advice about how to handle trauma symptoms in themselves and others. Here are five tips that might be helpful:
1) Lower expectations of yourself: it will be difficult to function cognitively due to short term memory loss, insomnia, difficulty organizing and planning, inability to retain information, and a keyed-up nervous system.
2) Take things one step at a time, one day at a time, and one breath at a time: traumatized individuals get easily overwhelmed by information, or, become stressed about all the things they need to do. It will be difficult for them to do small tasks; thus, please let others help and ask for help when you need it.
3) Let go of needing to control: Individuals who have lost everything will experience a sense of chaos in their lives—both psychologically and in their external world. In order to counterbalance the chaos in their external world, they will be hyper-obsessed about control and needing to keep things organized in their lives. It is difficult for really competent people to experience trauma symptoms and will feel like they are on the edge, they need to be reassured that they will heal in time. They need to be reassured that they will have a support system; thus, friends, family and extended community needs to show up for these people for extended periods of time.
4) Sitting with negative emotions, but knowing how to identify unhealthy downward spirals of negative thinking that leads to unhealthy isolation, suicidal ideation, and severe depression. Depression and anxiety are symptoms of PTSD and every one deals with their emotions differently. However, if you have a tendency to isolate when you are in crisis, reach out to someone for help (a trauma informed therapist is ideal), or, get into a grief and loss support group.
5) Set up a self-care plan and limit your exposure to stress. It is ok to focus on yourself and give yourself the time you need to heal. Everyone’s path of healing is unique; thus, routinely schedule healthy coping skills such as exercise, meditation, yoga, journaling, reading, listening to music, doing art, moving your body, and eating healthy meals.