Mental health and disasters: Coping with stress

When you think about getting ready for a disaster, physical preparations — such as creating an emergency stockpile or finding a safe place to stay — are probably the first things that come to mind. However, it’s important to be mentally prepared for a disaster as well.

Everyone reacts differently to stress, whether it’s caused by daily life or by a disaster. But like all preparedness activities, knowing what you’re in for can boost your resiliency and help you cope in healthy ways.

To put your mind at ease, create a stockpile kit before a disaster occurs. A few basics are needed for any emergency, including water, nonperishable foods, a first-aid kit, a battery-operated radio, batteries and a manual can opener. Make your kit portable in case of evacuation.

Identifying and preparing for disasters that are more likely to happen in your community and creating an emergency plan can also help you be mentally prepared.

After disasters, both children and adults can have lasting mental health effects. Common reactions may include difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping and mood swings. Parents should look out for signs of distress in their children, such as crying, risk-taking or behavior changes.

Our Get Ready fact sheet on mental health and disasters offers tips that can help you and your loved ones heal. They include:

• Be patient: Mental healing can take time. Allow yourself time to grieve for what you have lost.
• Avoid overexposure to disaster coverage by the media.
• Take care of your physical health: Try your best to eat healthily, exercise, wash your hands regularly, get plenty of sleep and drink adequate water. Avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

If you need help with mental stress after a disaster, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s disaster distress helpline, 1-800-985-5990, offers support. Counselors can provide tips for healthy coping, help you recognize distress and refer you to follow-up care.

Why men should be prepared for disasters: Q&A with Integris Health’s Steve Petty

Steve Petty, director of community
health improvement for
Integris Health

June is Men’s Health Month, a great time to remind American men and boys that they need to be prepared for emergencies. Steve Petty is director of community health improvement for Integris Health, Oklahoma’s largest hospital network, and administrative director of the network’s Men’s Health University, a health screening event for men. Check out what Petty, who is a member of APHA’s Men’s Health Caucus and the Men’s Health Network, recommends.

APHA recently partnered with March of Dimes to promote preparedness for pregnant mothers and families with infants. How can emergency readiness specifically improve men’s health?

Personal consideration and preparation for emergencies leads to a more confident and content state of mind. Having a plan for the critical actions during an emergency improves the chance that such individuals will escape harm. The entire family unit benefits from men who engage in emergency readiness planning.

You’ve spoken of the “silent health crisis” facing American men, who live on average five years fewer than women. One reason is because men take more risks. Does this put men at greater risk during public health disasters? 

It is thought that the increase in such risk taking behavior might be decreased if men were encouraged to participate in debriefing or defusing activities.

• considering how we can promote emergency preparedness among men in the community;

• identifying “at risk” men following community disasters and providing access to counseling and support activities;

• providing education and operational training for emergency health care providers, community members and other major stakeholders regarding emergency preparedness and men;

• promoting the importance of men taking charge of their health/wellness for themselves and for the sake of their families; and

• creating awareness of the importance of regular health checkups with a physician or health care provider.

The life expectancy gap between men and women is, in many cases, due to our different biological makeup, but it is also the socialization and lifestyles which highly influence health outcomes. As young boys, many are taught that big boys don’t cry, leading to the "macho man” attitude where men are expected to ignore health concerns and push through the pain.

Also, studies that have been performed to date show some variations in mortality rates during disasters. Men are more likely to suffer severe consequences psychologically, like suicide, following a disaster.

They are less likely for the most part to seek care for emotional problems and often remain symptomatic for longer periods of time when compared to women. A few studies demonstrate that one response to stress — particularly following large-scale disasters — is that men increase the frequency of risk-taking behaviors.

Fill in the blanks for APHA’s Get Ready Blog readers and your Oklahoma City communities: “I pledge to help men prepare for emergencies by ________”

I have so many recommendations here, including:

It's also important for men — and women, for that matter — to have regular checkups, so that screening tests can detect health problems early, when they are easier to treat.

June is a great opportunity to set an appointment with your health care provider, or you can stop by one of the many health stations now found in retail settings. A great place to find the information you may need before and after that visit is the online Men's Health Online Resource Center. 

Surviving the stress of a disaster



Laura Santacrose

Today’s guest blog on the importance of preparing both mentally and physically for disasters is by Laura Santacrose, MPH, the 2013-2014 student fellow for APHA’s Maternal and Child Health Section.

It is important to recognize that people can have emotional reactions leading up to a disaster, during a disaster and after a disaster strikes. Having a plan in place for a disaster can help lower the stress of an already stressful situation. In addition to having a plan for the family and an emergency preparedness kit, it is important to prepare for the emotional response you may experience as a result of a disaster.

While reactions to disaster will vary from person to person, it is common to experience feelings of shock and disbelief, and to experience difficulty sleeping and concentrating. People can even experience feelings of helplessness. Some people may experience changes in eating habits and use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. People often find it helpful to talk about their experience with friends and family, write their thoughts and feelings in a journal, or seek professional help and support. These are all healthy coping strategies that can help people deal with stressful situations like disasters.

Disasters can be particularly stressful for pregnant women and caregivers to children. The emotional and mental stress of experiencing a disaster can have a physical effect on a pregnant mother’s body, which can lead to poor nutrition and preterm complications. The stress of a disaster may increase the risk of preterm labor, low birth weight and even miscarriage. Therefore, it is important that all pregnant women know the signs and symptoms of preterm labor. Learn more about the signs of preterm labor from the Get Ready campaign and the March of Dimes.

Additionally, infants are completely dependent on their caregivers to protect them during a disaster. Therefore, caregivers need to care for their own physical and mental health in order to care for their infant effectively. An added benefit of breastfeeding your child is that by keeping baby close to the mother, it creates a soothing effect for both mom and baby, which can help to relieve some of the emotional stress felt after a disaster.

Check out the Get Ready campaign’s Mental Health and Disasters fact sheet for more information about how to prepare for the emotional toll a disaster may have on you or your loved ones.

 

Mental health and emergencies: Being prepared and coping afterward

Public health disasters don’t just affect the environment — they impact mental and emotional health, too. In observance of National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Get Ready Report podcast team spoke with Robert Motta, director of the Child and Family Trauma Institute at Hofstra University about mental health preparedness.

Motta and his students were involved in mental health response following Hurricane Sandy, which damaged communities in the Northeast U.S. in October, killed more than 100 people and left thousands of people homeless. Such emergencies can “have a dramatic impact on mental and emotional health,” Motta says.

After traumatic events, people may experience feelings of anger, guilt, grief and helplessness as well as dramatic mood swings. Such feelings can continue long after the disaster is over, developing into post traumatic stress disorder that can last for months or years.

And it’s not just adults that are affected. To help children cope with emergencies, Motta says parents should stay calm and optimistic and provide assurance that unpredictable things can happen.
“Parents can prepare themselves by realizing that children can be more influenced by their reactions than the actual event,” Motta told the Get Ready campaign.

Knowing you are prepared before an emergency happens can lessen stress during an emergency, says Motta. Instead of struggling to find out where to get help during an emergency, communities and residents can be ready ahead of time by organizing support groups and determining where emergency services such as shelters, food banks and call centers are available.

For more tips on mental health preparedness, listen to the podcast with Motta and read the transcript. For more information, download the Get Ready campaign’s mental health and disaster fact sheet.