Your Community

Emergency Preparedness

Guide Book

COPING WITH A DISASTER

When Something Big Happens How Will You Cope?

Life is upside down.  It is normal to be upset about what has happened.

Right After it happens you may feel:

• Afraid

• Shocked 

• Numb

It may be hard to decide what to do next.

You may want to:

• Find out as much as you can about what happened

• Help yourself and your family

• Help others who are going through the same thing

A few weeks after it is over, you may feel:

• Really mad

• In a bad mood

• Afraid of the future

• Guilty because there was nothing you could do

You may also feel that:

• You don't trust anyone

• It was 'all too much' for me (overwhelmed)

• You are not getting enough help

• The help you are getting is not good enough

• You may want to be alone

The way you feel may affect your body.  You may have:

• No desire to eat

• Upset stomach

• Headaches

• A hard time sleeping

• Crying spells

Here's What You Can Do

1- For Yourself

• Try to eat meals at normal times.

• Get enough sleep.

• Do some kind of exercise.

• Take a step back and look at what happened.

• Try to solve problems WITH other people, not alone.

• Take some time to be with loved ones or friends.

• Try to enjoy the small things in life.

• Go easy.  Do not ask too much of yourself.

2- For Your Spouse

• Take some time to be alone together.

• Take some time to talk about what happened.

• Keep an open mind.  The way YOU think about what happened may NOT be the way your spouse sees it.

• Be more willing to listen.

• Take turns hearing what the other has to say.

• Hug each other.

• Don't take your anger out on the one you love.

3- For Your Children

Kids have a way of dealing with things.  If you have young children you may find that they go back to baby things, like:

• Sucking their thumb or wetting the bed.

• Want to be close to you all the time.

• Don't want to go to bed.

• Have bad dreams.

• Cry and scream.

• Pretend that the 'bad thing' never happened.

• Become very quiet.

• Don't want to play active games.

• Don't want to go to school.

• Start to have problems at school.

Here are some things you can do to help your children:

• Talk about what happened.

• Tell them about it in a way that they will understand.

• Say how YOU feel about what happened.

• Let them know they are safe.  Tell them this OFTEN.

• Hug them or hold them.  This makes them feel safe.

• Tell them about safety rules so they know what to do if it happens again.

• Spend more time with them.  Try to be there at bedtime.

• Praise them when they do things right.

• Make sure you tell teachers, baby-sitters or others how your child is coping.

4- For Older Parents, Friends or Relatives

• Let them talk about how they feel.

• Try to find out what they are afraid of and what they need.

• Respect what they say and the choices they make.

• Let them know that they WILL be able to cope.  Remind them that they have coped with many other bad or sad things in their life.

• Offer to help them by driving them places or cleaning the house.

• If you can't help them, tell them about people or groups that can.

• Plan to do something with them that they enjoy, like playing cards.

• Don't pressure them to make big changes, like selling their house.

5- For Your Community

• Listen to people who are having problems.

• Say how you feel about what happened.

• Keep in mind that tempers may be short.  Some people may be having a hard time.

• Tell people where they can go for help, if you know where to go.

• Give credit to all those who are helping out.

You know life is getting back to normal when:

• You feel better.

• You are doing your normal work each day.

• You feel you can enjoy the simple things in life.

To talk to someone, call the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Action Line free of charge at 1-800-660-5853.

Activities To Occupy Your Children

     In our technology-based society, children, as well as parents, rely on such things as television and video games to entertain themselves.

     However, during a disaster, people will find themselves scurrying to find candles, batteries, and some source of heat.

     In the midst of all this, there may be bored children.  Trying to keep children occuoied can be a job in itself.

Here are some activities to occupy your children:

• Board games (snakes and ladders, monopoly)

• Card games (UNO, crazy eights)

• Tell stories by candlelight

• Roast marshmallows over fireplace

• Crafts (cutting and pasting, bead necklaces)

• Homework

• Read books

• House maintenance (change their bedroom around)

• Draw/color

• Build a fort with sleeping bags

• Paint (finger painting, if you have water to clean up)