CRISIS RESOURCES

TIPS & RESOURCES IN THE FACE OF DISASTERS

from UCLA Mental Health Email List

Below are a few quick points and some resources for you to draw upon.  Immediate responses to disasters include shock and denial. These are normal, protective reactions. Shock leaves one feeling stunned or dazed. One may temporarily feel numb. As shock subsides, reactions vary.

Common Responses include persistent fears (about being separated from family), sleep disturbances, loss of concentration and irritability, physical complaints, withdrawal and listlessness.  These symptoms occur as part of the normal, immediate human response to overwhelming events.

Adults can begin to restore emotional well being by acknowledging feelings, asking for support, reestablishing routines, reaching out to others. They can care for the needs of children and youngsters by listening to their feelings and fears, providing information to clarify what occurred and whether it can affect their lives, and by reestablishing routines that will comfort and reassure.

For more details on responding, see the Quick Find on our website http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu Ð Go to the Center Response section and scroll to "Crisis Prevention and Response." One of the things you will find cited is our resource aid "Responding to a Crisis at a School" which contains specific guidelines for responding and follow-up in the weeks to come. You can download this with a click and print off the relevant materials.

A few additional resources include the following:

• Coping with Emotions after a Disaster
• Managing Traumatic Stress, American Psychological Association
• After a Disaster: Steps You Can Take to Cope with a Stressful Situation
• The Child Survivor of Traumatic Stress
• Helping Children After a Disaster: Facts for Families from the American
  Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• National Center for PTSD has a large literature base