	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Self-Improvement/Motivation Articles

First Anniversary of a Natural Disaster

By Carol McClelland

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 25Aug2006
Word count: 626
Viewed: 411 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

Any time a natural disaster such as a hurricane, earthquake, fire, or tornado strikes, there’s a flurry of attention right after the event and over the next few weeks or months. Then the survivors are left to pull their lives back together again.

What most people don’t realize is that as the first anniversary approaches, the survivors may experience a welling up of emotions. At times the intensity of these emotions can be so strong that people believe they are back in the original disaster that turned their lives upside down. This can be a very scary feeling.

What Is An Anniversary Reaction?

An “Anniversary Reaction” is the response you have when unresolved feelings about an event resurface as you pass the anniversary date of the original event. A another storm or natural disaster may also trigger your reaction. This is a natural process that allows you to complete and resolve feelings about the past so that you can move forward with your life.

Some psychologists believe that we unconsciously relive episodes similar to the original trauma in hopes that we can master the situation this time around.

Others think that we are experiencing elements of the situation that we couldn’t process while we were in the event because we didn’t have the time, energy, or ability to process what we were feeling.

No matter what the reason for an anniversary reaction, please know that it is completely normal to have strong emotions about difficult past events even after so much time has passed. This is especially true when someone experienced intense fear and helplessness; the body and mind take time to integrate all that transpired.

(Although not everyone experiences or recognizes anniversary reactions, do not discount your own feelings during this anniversary.)

Who is Likely to Feel the Anniversary?

Survivors of the hurricane are likely to experience some reaction at the time of the anniversary, but they aren’t the only ones. A number of other groups may also experience an Anniversary Reaction.

Which of these categories do you fall into?

~ You experienced a direct loss as a result of the Hurricane. Perhaps you lost your home, a loved one, a friend, a pet, your job…or something else. You’ve been through a tremendously difficult year.

~ You went through the evacuation and came back to moderate damage in you home. You have also been through an ordeal.

~ You evacuated and came home to little or no damage. Even though you made it through the storm, you’ve experienced the emotional trauma of not knowing how you’d be impacted by the storm.

~ You were a rescue worker–either paid or volunteer—who witnessed many different elements of this catastrophe. In some ways you’ve had more to process than others because you saw so much up close.

~ You had family members who were directly impacted by the disaster or could have been. You have experienced a “vicarious trauma.” It’s an incredibly helpless feeling to be miles away watching the disaster unfold on the news and not know where your loved ones are or whether they are safe.

~ You are a member of the media who had your own experience of this storm. In many cases your line of work put you in danger…far from your family and loved ones.

~ You watched the coverage of the disaster on television and were emotionally impacted by the startling array of visual images, stories, and situations you witnessed.

~ You have experienced an intense trauma in the past—a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or flood, or a personal loss of some sort. In any case, the intensity of this hurricane may well have triggered your own feelings of loss.

Carol McClelland, PhD, author of The Seasons of Change and Your Dream Career For Dummies, is a transition expert. She’s helped thousands of people get back on their feet after their lives have been turned upside down by natural disasters and personal losses, such as grief, illness, job change, relocation, and divorce. To read more about the Anniversary Reaction, download your own copy of Carol’s free 20 page booklet called, One Year Later: Surviving the Katrina Anniversary at: http://www.seasonsofchange.com/katrina

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here