How to Cope with Japan's Natural Disasters

It’s hard not to have some type of emotional reaction after watching multiple videos of the tsunami in Japan that killed so many people and uprooted others.

Even news anchors talk about how devastating it is to see the floods of water sweep so quickly over the land, with close-up shots of vehicles attempting to escape the water soon to envelop them. Those vehicles had people inside them who are now in another place.

The average person sees natural disasters on the news all the time, but the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were so surprising and devastating that it has caught the attention of the world, and some experts have advice for coping after these natural disasters.

There are three main groups of people who are reacting to the natural disasters in Japan: people in Japan who survived the tsunami; people not directly affected but whose family members were affected (or maybe friends, homes, etc. were lost); and those who weren’t directly affected themselves or whose friends/family weren’t affected, but are sympathetic to those who are suffering.

Anthony Ng, a medical director at Acadia Hospital in Maine and a psychiatrist who specializes in natural disasters, said that hearing about natural disasters in other places can trigger emotional reactions, especially for people who have personally been in that situation themselves.

“I think a big piece is obviously there’s nothing you can do to prevent it,” Ng said. “For people who live in the earthquake zone … I think they’ve been taught to do at least some preparation, which helps alleviate some anxiety.”

In general, he said people should turn to others for support and talk about the natural disaster, as well as get back into a normal routine. Most people don't have abnormal reactions if they weren't directly involved, but if they do they can see a psychologist about coping.

For those who are directly affected by natural disasters, like people in Japan, there are somewhat different focuses on coping with emotional reactions.

Ng pointed out that people in Japan have a different way of coping with natural disasters than people in other countries. For example, they might not want to go to a counselor and be put on medication right away if they’re suffering from trauma or PTSD.

“Certainly they feel sad and anger issues and intense despair and upset over what happened, but they may turn to other things, such as family support, friends and other community members as a way to boost up their resilience, rather than just going straight to … counselors,” Ng said.

People in Asian cultures might also seek help from professionals in different ways.

“A lot of the Asian cultures tend to present … psychiatric concerns as a somatic complaint, such as a greater incidence of stomach issues, of headaches, back pains, and stuff like that,” Ng said.

A challenge right now in Japan is to help all the people who need counseling, and Ng said there will probably be training for teachers, community leaders and primary care doctors to help with basic support and evaluations.

People in Japan are mainly relying on community help, which sometimes isn’t as prevalent in the U.S., where there can be social friction among upper and lower classes, like in Hurricane Katrina.

“Japan is a very homogenous society over there, and in general … in that area you don’t have that great a diversity in terms of socioeconomic issues,” Ng said.

In therapy, people directly affected by natural disasters might go through cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with the trauma, and people who lost loved ones could go through grief counseling. For people from different cultures, multicultural counseling can be helpful.

He said it’s important during the early phases of counseling after a natural disaster to focus on re-establishing priorities.

“They’re so inundated with so many needs and priorities, that I think that’d create a little confusion and stress for them,” Ng said.

Robert Hayes, a professor emeritus of counseling psychology at Ball State University in Ohio, said that for people who are not directly affected by a natural disaster, there can be “a lot of sympathy and empathy and maybe even sadness, wishing they could do something, not knowing what to do.”

People generally want to help, which is obvious by all the charities set up after the tsunami in Japan.

Children who aren’t directly involved in a natural disaster can be more affected by natural disasters than some adults because of the constant replay of videos on TV. Hayes suggests turning the TV off in this case.

“We can get so tied into it, and then it becomes almost magnetic, you know ‘I’ve got to see what’s on television,’ and most of it is the same pictures being shown again and again,” Hayes said.

It’s important to get outside and walk, and not get “bogged down with this calamity that [you] can’t do anything much about,” he said.

There needs to be a realization that there is no way to have control over what happened, and the best that most people can do is to pick up the phone or checkbook and donate to a charity, Hayes said.

For people who are in the midst of a natural disaster, Hayes said it’s important to focus on taking care of basic needs and safety. There should also be a focus on getting the proper medication, shelter, food, and eventually finding out the condition and location of friends and family.

He agreed with Ng, that there could be a training of teachers and community leaders to help support those in need.

“Basically it’s sitting down with someone and just listening to them and not letting them to fall into being victims, but get them to start figuring out how they’re going to take the first step to … their own recovery,” Hayes said. “Everybody has a story, and they need to tell it, and sometimes they need to tell it again and again and again.”

Besides the earthquake and tsunami, people are also worried about radiation spreading to the U.S. Although there is no guaranteed threat currently, many have rushed to buy potassium iodide pills. People in Japan bought bottled water because of concerns over contaminated water.

Ng said people have to put this possible threat into perspective, including looking at how much radiation occurs in everyday life activities versus the amount of radiation that people could be exposed to from Japan.

Hayes said for counselors and others it’s important to realize that people who are worried about radiation believe that it is a real concern, so they should be listened to. However, the best information should be presented to them.

How are you coping with the situation in Japan? There are multiple resources available to help you cope, and many professionals who specialize in the area of natural disasters. I’ve provided some links below.

Resources:
http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=59062
http://www.apa.org/topics/disasters/index.aspx
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/somatic-psychology/201004/the-trauma-arises-natural-disasters
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/naturaldisaster_teams_ho.aspx
http://www.du.edu/gspp/degree-programs/international-disaster-psychology/overview/
http://community.womensvillage.com/forum/topics/coping-with-natural-disasters
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/natural_disaster.html
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/angermgmt_general.aspx
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/00146.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/copingwithdisasters.html

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Tags:

• Mental Health
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Emotional Health