SURVIVING POST-HARVEY

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I am not a counselor and I have never experienced a natural disaster of this magnitude before, but I have experienced trauma and I was on the grounds of Haiti shortly after the earthquake.   Trent and I have noticed many similarities between what our community is experiencing now and what we have experienced in the past and I hope that I might have some words of wisdom and encouragement for you:

      1. ADRENALINE IS A LIFE-SAVER AND A KILLER.  

Most of us are running on adrenaline right now.  It is a life-saver and helps us find the energy to get what we need done.  What I experienced after Maggie’s strokes though was a post adrenaline survival crash when I returned home from the hospital.  My body rhythm had adjusted to its new best friend and did not know how to function without it. 

One of the first signs, for me, of living on adrenaline is when I wake up in the middle of the night wide awake.  I noticed this in the last few days and started taking steps to break it.  I have cut out any power naps in the middle of the day and started taking something to help me sleep all the way through the night.  You need to figure out how to keep your body on a normal sleep cycle and not become dependent on adrenaline.

2.     POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IS REAL AND MOST OF US WILL EXPERIENCE IT AFTER THIS.

When I returned from Haiti, my entire body broke out in hives and I could not fathom stepping back into life as I knew it before my trip.  My family had a counselor call me at 6 am one morning and I remember him saying, “Of course you are feeling this way. Your eyes have just witnessed what no one should ever have to see.  What you are feeling is COMPLETELY NORMAL for what you have experienced.”  Ya'll I was 50% better when I hung up that phone because normalization gave me permission to not be okay and it gave me freedom to move forward at my own pace.

If I can offer you any comfort in this moment, let it be the encouraging words that were offered to me. What you experienced was unfathomable.  Our bodies are overloaded with sights and smells that we simply do not have the ability to process.  It is okay to not be okay right now.   YOU WILL BE OKAY AGAIN.  It may just take a little while and a little help.

3.  TAKE BREAKS!!!!!! 

I remember the permanent missionaries in Haiti experienced extreme burn out and fatigue.  They had to build in intentional breaks even though the need was still great.   When Maggie was in the hospital, Trent and I switched off daily to give us a time to step away and regroup.   I believe this was critical for our ability to walk that road for 4 months. 

We have a command center at the church were the same volunteers are working 12-15 hour shifts taking in requests and connecting them to those who are ready to serve.  Right now they are running on adrenaline but I have already arranged for relief to come in and put them on a 3 day rotation.   We can only go this hard for so long before we crash.  If you need to get in your car and leave town for 2 days then come back, do it.  If you need to turn off your facebook and TV and say I am not available again for 24 hours, do it.  There will be work to be done for years but you won’t be available to do it if you burn out in the two weeks. 

Like I said in my intro disclaimer, I am not a mental health professional but I am pretty good at taking on mountains.  I told a friend today that I think I was able to spring into action while everyone else was still in the shock phase because not much shocks me anymore.   We are going to get through this friends but this is a marathon and no one wins a marathon without pacing themselves and taking care of themselves along the way.  You got this.