The Impact of Natural Disasters on our Mental Health
With floods, bushfires, and heatwaves happening more often, many of us have experienced a natural disaster. Along with physical devastation, these extreme weather events can also have an impact on our mental health.
Here are some key findings from a national study from the Climate Council on the impact of climate disasters:
- 80% of Australians have experienced a natural disaster since 2019.
- 51% of Australians who experienced a natural disaster said their mental health was impacted.
- The most common mental health impacts reported were anxiety symptoms (73%), depression symptoms (49%), and PTSD symptoms (30%).
- Over half (56%) reported sleep problems.
- One in four (25%) reported that their experience had exacerbated an existing mental health problem.
- More than half reported feelings of helplessness and despair (57%) and were worried about the safety of their family (57%).
How you may be feeling
Anticipation of a disaster can cause anxiety. You may feel uncertain, panicked, confused, or helpless. When these feelings become overbearing, you may not think clearly, which can impact your preparations.
During and immediately after a disaster, your emotions can escalate. If there are threats to your safety, you might feel fearful or hopeless. You might also be grieving the loss of people, property, pets, and wildlife, as well as your routine and the future you had planned. Feelings of detachment, despair, frustration, and loneliness are also common.
If things are becoming overwhelming and you are finding it hard to manage, please reach out for support:
- Make an appointment to see your GP.
- Call CAREinMIND to speak to a counsellor on 1300 096 269.
- Call a crisis helpline such as Lifeline on 13 11 14.
- Talk to someone you trust.
Physical Preparation for Natural Disasters
Being physically prepared for a natural disaster can help reduce the impact and disruption.
Here are some things you can do to prepare for a natural disaster:
- Ensure you have enough emergency supplies, such as water, food, flashlights, batteries, and spare medication.
- Have an emergency kit ready.
- Create a family communication and evacuation plan.
- Make a list of emergency contacts and support services.
- Work on necessary home repairs and prepare your home for extreme weather.
- Have a plan for how you will manage your pets in an emergency.
- Store important documents in a safe, accessible place and keep backup digital copies if possible.
Here are some useful links to help you prepare for a natural disaster:
- Australian Red Cross Rediplan Disaster Preparedness Guide
- Australian Red Cross Emergency Kit Checklist
- Vic Emergency website has information on being prepared and live warnings
- Victoria State Emergency Service has information on how to plan and stay safe.
- For emergencies, call 000 for police, fire or ambulance.
Handling these tasks ahead of time can make you feel more in control and less anxious when disaster strikes.
Mental Preparation for Natural Disasters
With your physical preparations for a natural disaster underway, it is time to think about your mental preparation.
As we know, natural disasters can be stressful, traumatic, and overwhelming. When we are stressed and overwhelmed, it is hard to focus, remain calm, and make clear decisions.
By being mentally prepared, we can reduce our stress, lower our anxiety, and find ways to cope.
The Australian Red Cross recommends three steps to help prepare your mind: Anticipate, Identify, and Manage.
- Anticipate your stress
Preparing for and experiencing a natural disaster can be stressful. It is common to feel anxious, uncertain, confused, or panicked.
To start mentally preparing, anticipate that it will be stressful. Take some time to work out what will cause you stress, how you usually react to stressful situations, and how you might feel. By figuring out your stressors and reactions beforehand, you are better equipped to manage them when they happen.
To help get you started, here are some common feelings and situations that you may anticipate:
- Worry about potential destruction or harm to life and property.
- Feeling overwhelmed or panicked as you prepare your home and complete tasks to keep your family safe.
- Fear or hopelessness, especially if the situation involves direct threats to your safety.
- Grief and sadness when witnessing the loss of property or life.
- Disorientation or despair if your regular routine has been disrupted.
- Shock, numbness or detachment.
- Frustration and confusion as you navigate the reality of what has happened.
- Loneliness if you are separated from your friends and community.
- Identify your thoughts and feelings
Once you have anticipated what you may experience, identify how you will know you are stressed. Here are some examples:
- Physical symptoms like tense muscles, headaches, stomach issues, or sleep problems.
- Racing thoughts.
- Stressful thoughts like “I can’t cope” or “I do not know what to do”.
- Feeling angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed.
- Feeling uneasy.
- Unable to focus or concentrate.
- Feeling tired.
- Manage your thoughts and feelings
Now that you have identified how you feel when stressed, think about other times you have experienced and gotten through stressful situations and what you did to cope. Use a healthy coping strategy that has worked for you in the past, or you can try something new. Here are some ideas:
- Calming exercises: Breathing exercises like slow, deep breaths or mindfulness can reduce symptoms of stress.
- Ground yourself: Restore your balance through grounding techniques.
- Positive self-talk: Remind yourself that you have handled stressful situations and can manage this too. Replace fearful thoughts like “I can’t cope” or “This is hopeless” with more constructive ones such as “I’m doing my best” or “I have gotten through tough situations before; I can get through this too”.
- Connect: Staying connected with a trusted support network can help during high-stress situations. Sharing what you are going through with someone you trust provides emotional support. You can also reach out to helplines like CAREinMIND or Lifeline.
- Practical preparation: Think about the specific concerns causing your stress and then take steps to reduce their impact. For example, prepare an emergency kit, have an evacuation plan, check your insurance policy, or prepare your home for extreme weather.
By being mentally prepared, you can manage your preparations and make clearer decisions.
One final note: Sometimes, people downplay the seriousness of a natural disaster. Please take the warnings seriously to ensure you are adequately prepared.
If you are struggling and need to reach out to a mental health professional, our CAREinMIND counsellors are here to help 24/7. Call 1300 096 269 or click the floating chat button on the right. The service is free for people in north, western and central Melbourne.
The CAREinMIND blog is delivered by Lifeline. The views in each post do not necessarily reflect those of North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network.