During the past few weeks lots of things happened, not only in Florida but in the whole country. Summer ended and the holidays are around the corner. This shift from summer to fall always feels a little bit hectic, but here in Florida it was coupled with the threat of Hurricane Dorian.
The Emotional Toll of a Hurricane (Even If It Doesn’t Hit)
Labor day weekend felt like longest long weekend ever. The looming storm created traffic, anxiety, and panic. Everything was closed. People boarded up their houses. You couldn’t go anywhere. Kids were getting bored, only leading to stress of being stuck inside all weekend. One minute it would be raining heavily, so we would mentally prepare for the worst, but then 10 minutes later it would stop and be nothing but sunny skies. Then the wind and rain would pick up again and we would be right back in panic mode. The anticipation and uncertainty was very stressful.
When the storm finally passed and we were left unharmed, we could all breathe a little easier. But I noticed that when schools and work reopened, it was impossible to return to “normal” life. People were like zombies and hadn’t slept in days. Even though the hurricane never hit, we were exhausted – physically and emotionally – and were still feeling anxious and stressed. We often forget about the emotional aftermath of storms. There’s often this expectation that we have to immediately jump right back into our regular routines and that everything is fine. But when we go through sustained, heightened stress and anxiety, we can’t just snap our fingers and go back to feeling fine. For days after the storm, people still couldn’t sleep, had terrible diets, and had a difficult time getting back into a healthy rhythm. You may still be struggling to put one foot in front of the other. But everyone has this expectation that we’re supposed to be perfect after the storm leaves and immediately let go of the stress, which puts more pressure on us and adds to our emotional pain. Very few people address the lingering emotional toll the hurricane has on us. I am incredibly grateful that the hurricane didn’t hit us, but know that not everyone was as fortunate as us. The Bahamas got destroyed, and their lives have to be rebuilt. There are a lot of us in Florida who are doing all we can to help the people of the Bahamas. As a community we came together to show care, love, and unity by supporting others in need. But at the same time, we’re ignoring our own needs. What are you doing to recover from your own stressful experiences and address your own emotional and mental health needs?
Taking Care of Our Emotional and Mental Health
Even though I’m a therapist, I’m always learning about emotional and mental health from others and the world around me. Hurricane Dorian taught me a valuable lesson about self-care. As we waited for the hurricane to hit, we were in a “fight-or-flight” mode for days. Being in this state for such a long time has negative consequences for our physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Unlike when hurricanes land and cause damage, because Dorian didn’t end up hitting us and “nothing” happened, we didn’t acknowledge the pain and stress we went through. We tried brushing it off and ignoring that we all went through a traumatic experience. When we don’t acknowledge that pain, it makes the pain worse. Just like with all aspects of our lives, whether it’s stress at work, problems with family members, or relationship issues, if we hold on to that sense of denial, it causes more pain.
The first step in taking care of yourself, is to acknowledge that something is happening. Taking a look at what is happening, internally and externally, talking about it, and allowing time for them to sink is a skill that involves your mind and your body.
We are all humans and our bodies respond to emotional pain. We have the option to listen or to ignore. If we listen to our bodies rather than trying to shut down our emotions, we allow ourselves to heal. We rest, we cry, we get angry, we feel the pain, we ask for help – these are all different ways of addressing our emotional pain and caring for ourselves. Sometimes people choose to focus their attention on other things, like helping others, burying our head in our work, and watching TV as a way to avoid addressing their feelings, or they believe that by ignoring their feelings they’ll feel better faster. But if we ignore our emotional needs and the physical symptoms, the initial problem will get worse. As a consequence, we are likely to experience physical pain, difficulty sleeping, weight gain or loss, anger, depression, resentment, and other issues.
Acknowledging your emotions and listening to what your body is telling you is a skill that you can cultivate to feel stronger, happier, and more efficient, and I can help you with that. Therapy gives you permission to allow you to feel the pain and know that it’s valid. You’ll be able to understand and appreciate the mind-body connection, and through body work, breathing, and recognizing the tension in different parts of your body, you’ll be able to improve both your physical and emotional wellbeing. We can’t control the weather, or everything that happens in our lives, so we can’t control our emotions that stem from that. Our emotions can weigh heavily on us, and letting your emotions out will help lighten the load.
Start Practicing Self-Care
Therapy can remind you how to take care of yourself and develop a plan so you know your sources of support. If you are ready to improve your emotional wellbeing and find a sense of peace and happiness, contact me today and schedule an appointment.
