Coping With Disaster

Coping With Natural Disaster

Natural calamities bring emotional damage to millions of people every year, leaving them to survive disasters. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, tornadoes, floods, and human caused disasters are only some of the calamities that destroy our homes and lives. Even with preparations made for natural calamities, there is nothing we can do to stop the destruction can bring completely.

It's difficult to cope with calamity. It can often be traumatizing. Traumatizing disastersSource: flickr.com

Statistics say that these disasters lead to millions of lives lost and economic devastation. However, what is not accounted for is the psychological effect of coping with disaster. Some people who are left in the turmoil of these difficult times of disasters have lost their homes, families, friends, and even their entire way of life.

These disasters often impact an individual’s mental health. According to Mental Health Services Administration, one of the most common psychological effects brought about by this is post-traumatic stress disorder.

Disaster Coping Guide

Coping with disasters or traumatic events is not easy. Anyone who has been exposed to a terrifying or life-threatening event, such as disasters, can develop mental health concerns related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder can manifest immediately once the disaster has happened but in some cases, it can develop much later. For months or even years, individuals with post traumatic stress disorder will still be haunted by these traumatic events, to the point that their daily routine becomes significantly impeded. “People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and strong overwhelming feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic disaster has ended,” explains Ranna Parekh, M.D., M.P.H. “They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.”

Victims Can Develop PTSD

PTSD, depression, and alcoholism are effects of trauma. Source: pixabay.com

Surviving Natural Calamities

According to the Anxiety and Depressions Association of America, listed below are some of the apparent reasons and common signs and symptoms of PTSD while coping with natural disasters:

    • Physical health symptoms of anxiety such as inability to think clearly, sweating, and a racing heartbeat
    • Experiencing flashbacks regarding traumatic memories
    • Changes in an individual’s routines and eating patterns
    • It leads to people avoiding interactions with others
    • Insomnia or difficulty sleeping or getting enough rest due to strange dreams or constant nightmares
    • Having angry outbursts on a regular basis
    • Being aggressive or violent
    • Lack of concentration leads to the difficulty of completing tremendous amount of tasks
    • Inability to retain or remember information

Every person experiences different disaster symptoms with a limit exposure to other involved substance abuse and mental health concerns. The coping phase for PTSD usually lasts for six months, but others face this disorder for years. It’s important that they deal with it with their family members.

NATURAL THERAPY TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL DEALING WITH PTSD SYMPTOMS

Talking about disaster coping strategies, most crisis counseling treatments and additional other resources for PTSD have a conventional support approach. These treatments include the use of prescription medications and drugs, which are believed to help PTSD patients deal with their extreme emotions and feelings such as social isolation, sadness, anger, anxiety, and lack of motivation. However, some people do not like this kind of coping mechanism. They opt to establish and engage with natural coping treatments since they don’t want to experience disastrous effects from using medications.

Guided Imagery Treatment

This strategy helps PTSD patients to focus on mental images to bring out the feeling of relaxation. This approach is based on the concept of the mind-body connection that improves both physical and emotional health. Ilene A. Serlin Ph.D. wrote, “Trauma is the “speechless terror” characterized, by frozen effect, memory, and speech. Coping methods that re-awaken numb bodies in a compassionate environment are nonverbal and symbolic and include meditation, imagery, music and movement therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, and existential therapy.”

Yoga And Meditation  - These exercises have been proven to “change the brain” by increasing the happy neurotransmitters.Source: pixabay.com

Yoga And Meditation Technique

These exercises have been proven to “change the brain” by increasing the happy neurotransmitters. This chemical helps improve their coping mechanisms for affected negative emotions, reduces the impacts of stress, and more. Some of the coping techniques on which patients can directly tap into the relaxation common normal reactions of their body include: chanting mantras with a group, engaging with different styles of coping in meditation, normal breathing control, and stretching. “It’s believed that yoga combats psychological and emotional distress by bringing a person’s fight-or-flight response back into balance,” says Bret A. Moore Psy.D., ABPP. “That response is the delicate system in the body that prepares you to either fight or run when faced with a threat, which can become disrupted in those with PTSD.”

Cognitive Restructuring

This strategy encourages patients to understand their traumas better by discussing them. Cognitive restructuring helps them with making sense of these crazy disasters and lets them relieve stress and manage the shame, guilt, and regret that are usually felt after the traumatic disaster.

Acupuncture Treatment

Acupuncture involves inserting thin needles on an individual’s skin to balance their energy. This coping mechanism boosts a person’s well-being and cures some disorders.

Source: pixabay.com

Final Thoughts

Many people prefer these natural coping therapies administered by a mental health professional as compared to the intake of medications and drugs to help them recover from disorders and cope with disasters in life. However, it is better if each finds the perfect risk factors for a disaster recovery approach and disease control and prevention since disaster affects everyone differently. Always remember that mental health is an essential and vital part of a person’s overall health. Hence, if you can’t cope with disasters, do not hesitate to talk with someone and seek professional help and ask for professional guidance.

Disaster Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is coping with natural disasters?
  2. What are the 3 basic strategies of disaster response?
  3. Which is one of the emotional coping strategies in the disaster management?
  4. How will you respond or react to a disaster?
  5. How can you help after a disaster?
  6. How do you recover from a disaster?
  7. What should you do before during and after a disaster?
  8. Why is recovery important after disaster?
  9. How can we reduce the impact of disasters?
  10. How do you stay calm in an emergency situation? 

Small Changes At Home That Make A Big Difference For The Environment 

Good news for Kermit the Frog: being green is in. At least we’re referring to being environmentally-conscious. As the condition of our environment continues to worsen, we feel more compelled to make significant lifestyle changes. People are turning to solar power, smart houses and green cars. 

 

Source: pixabay.com

  Continue reading Small Changes At Home That Make A Big Difference For The Environment 

A Guide To Sustainable Living

Discussion for a better world for the present and future generations.

a very sad and devastating photo of the environment with dead trees and fogs. What a dark scenery

Source: pixabay.com

What is Sustainable Living?

“When we speak of environmental violence, we are referring to the direct damage to the environment by humans, but also the violent response from the natural world as a result of human degradation of the environment and the violence humans do to one another because of their effects on the climate,” writes Bandy X. Lee M.D., M.Div.

Sustainability Guide For Our Green Earth

Technology made life much easier but at an incredible environmental cost. Man forgot about how to survive off the land without causing too much impact by his activities and became reliant on petroleum, coal, and heavy use of other Earth’s natural renewable resources. Thus, understanding this guide to sustainable living is essential. Indeed, more sustainable world and eco life is a significant subject to discuss.

Sustainability Living Guide

The sustainable living guide to improving your life requires several amazing programs over the years. These sustainable fashion lifestyle guides have been instituted to help reverse some of the damage caused by urban environments. These sustainability programs made several sustainable choices and practice recommendations. These include sustainable food waste proper disposal.

Some big recommendations have to be implemented at the state level and others small enough need to be integrated into an individual’s zero waste living lifestyle without trading the conveniences of modern daily life, like air-conditioning.

a circle glass plaque of sustainable living guideSource: flickr.com

Sustainable Living Certification

A good example of the best guide to better sustainable living is the LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system which as of writing is the most popular and widely used certification for green building in the world. Its rating system can be used by architects, real estate developers, and even people who want to make their homes eco-friendlier. They recommend developers who build apartment complexes install wind turbines instead of diesel generators to minimize air pollution in their area.

“Much of the present pollution is either not captured by the senses in principle or not captured because it is removed from the experience,” writes Joachim I Krueger Ph.D.

Cities like Beijing and L.A. should serve as examples of what happens when air pollution goes unchecked. In addition to installing wind turbines, real estate developers are recommended to build more mixed-use properties that have office spaces, healthcare, education, and shopping facilities nearby, so residents do not have to travel far from their residences. This plan will, in turn, lessen the number of vehicles on the road.

 What Happened To All The Water?  

A human can live without food for two weeks or more but only three to four days without water. Clearly, water is integral to our survival, and that is why residents are advised to monitor and manage their water consumption intelligently. Before a building can receive a LEED certification, it must satisfy specific water requirements.

A stagnant pool in the middle of bushesSource: commons.wikimedia.org

The Water For Sustainable Living

Residential buildings located in areas that receive high amounts of annual rainfall are advised to collect rainfall to be used in swimming pools, irrigation, in bathrooms, and, if there’s enough budget to install purifiers and filters, to make rainwater potable.

There are water filters that use natural materials like coconut shell granular activated carbon (a proprietary blend by LifeSource Water Systems®, one the truly sustainable brands) that will not add to salts and brine to surrounding soils. These salts contaminate nearby streams and water sources. What is the point of going the length of collecting rainwater and treating sewage water if it can’t be reclaimed due to the high sodium content?

My House Is Poisoning Me

So far the focus has been on reducing the damage done to the planet due to the activities of man. However, what about the occupants of these buildings? What can be done to ensure they are in optimum health and practice sustainable living in a beautiful eco-friendly environment?  How can we have a more sustainable development of lifestyle?

Natural Materials For Green Life

To start adapting eco friendly lifestyle, residences with LEED certifications usually incorporate natural materials that are free from formaldehyde and other toxins, and the effort to acquire does not lead to further environmental damage. These materials include eco friendly products such as wood, bamboo, and clay to name just a few of the environmentally friendly materials.

Source: flickr.com

Clay has terrific temperature regulating properties, especially during hot days. It retains the cool nocturnal air as long as the windows are kept closed. Using insulating load-bearing bricks or monomer bricks will also lower a residence’s utility bills especially in hot climates where air-conditioning is very important. As an added safety bonus, clay will reduce hazardous chemicals of carbon emissions from plastic pollution and public transportation and will not produce harmful toxic greenhouse gases during a fire, making the firemen’s job a lot easier.

Sustainability Conclusion And Takeaway

Learn More About It Today

It is not possible to discuss all the possible ways a residential complex can reduce waste of harmful chemicals such as carbon footprint while maintaining the safety of its residents in living a more sustainable life in one article. However, property developers and residents are advised to visit websites like Sustainable Org and USGBC Org to learn in-depth on actions they can take.

“As Pogo said, ‘We have met the enemy and he is us.’ All of us are implicated in demanding and using the products that are causing pollution,” writes Susan Clayton Ph.D.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the 7 principles of sustainable living?

How do you start a sustainable living?

What is the most sustainable way of living?

What are the 5 Steps to sustainability?

How do you create a sustainable plan?

How do you build sustainability?

What are the three key elements of sustainable homes?

What are the 7 components of green building?

What is sustainable house?

What kind of homes are the greenest?

What are the ways of living a sustainable life?

What is the goal of sustainable living?

3R Strategy: The Right Way To Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle 

We’ve all heard of it since grade school. The popular concept of “3R” refers to the three activities related to waste management, “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” Just like a good motto, it is a reminder of how we should take care of our environment and treat it with respect. 

Source: flickr.com

Continue reading 3R Strategy: The Right Way To Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle