“It
does not hurt to ask for help.
We all need support in way one or another.”
Each
day comes with new adventures, consisting of positive and negative events. It all depends on how one reacts to the
situations. I remember the morning of
February 27, 1972. It was a day that I
will never forget. I was sitting at my
piano looking out of the window and thinking I sure do not want to go to piano
practice. I had no idea that I would not
be able to go anyone in the next five months.
In a matter of seconds after my
thoughts, I saw a man running down the country road. I said to my mom, “why is that man running and
why are the trees falling?” My mom’s
first response was, “Pat, are you practicing or are you playing around?” I told her, “yes I am practicing, but the
trees are still falling.” Because I
insisted that the trees are falling, my mother went to the window and she said,
“get your shoes, we have to go to outside and walk up the hill path, I think
the dam has broken”. She was right, as we
were in the middle of a natural disaster as the community experienced a flood.
After
the water subsided, my mother and I did not know what to do. My dad had not come home from work and we did
not know if he was alive or dead. Time
stood still until we saw my dad walking towards us as we stood outside on the
hill behind the house. The first couple
of days were very hard, because all the houses that were located in front of where
we lived were gone and the people who lived there could not be found.
As
a 10 year old, I was confused. How could
this happen? Where are the people and my
friends? I thought did I cause this to
happen all because I did not want to go to practice? Children may be encouraged to express their
feelings, or they may be taught that emotions are best kept to oneself, (Berger,2012).
I am fortunate to have parents who
taught me to ask questions. How else
would I get answers? In the coming days,
the National Guard and the American Red Cross arrived to bring us food, medical
supplies, and provide shelter. Although,
I was able to see my friends in the neighborhood, it was four months before I
was able to connect with my friends in other parts of the county. Our first day back at school was in June and
that is when we found out that three of our friends had lost their life. We were provided time to talk about the
situation and how we felt and the lines of communication were open. Without the support of a trusted
parent/caregiver to help them regulate their strong emotions, children may
experience overwhelming stress, with little ability to effectively communicate
what they feel or need, (Zero to Six Collaborative Group, National Child
Traumatic Stress Network, 2010).
Compared
to my experience of a natural disaster, people in Bangladesh have made flooding and tropical cyclones a part of their
everyday living. Natural disasters have
become so commonplace that no one is notified unless there is a large
casualty. Although preparedness is
second nature to the people in Bangladesh, the impact is still apparent. Education time is lost and post-traumatic stress
disorder is experienced. This was evident based on a study conducted by
Durkin, Davidson, Zaman, and Stein, (1993), behaviors become aggressive, a
study showed that before and after a flood, the aggressive behavior increased
from zero to nearly 10%, and children who had bladder control before the flood developed
enuresis (45 out of 135 were evaluated).
Regardless
of the time, place, or location of a natural disaster, it is important to
recognize that children need support and most important it is better when children
are reassured by their parents and those who care for them daily. Another resource would be to reach out to
the community, the more support one has in place the better the outcome.
REFERENCES
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through
childhood (6th ed.), New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Durkin, M. S., PhD, DrPH, Davidson, L. L., MD, MSc, Zaman, S.
S., PhD, and. Stein, Z. A., M4, MB, BCh,
(1993). The effects
of a natural disaster on child behavior: Evidence for posttraumatic stress.
Zero to Six Collaborative Group,(August, 2010). Early
childhood trauma. Retrieved from:
Hi Patricia,
ReplyDeleteYou perfectly illustrated how your life went from quite normal to a state of upheaval and unrest in just a matter of moments. You were impacted immediately- needing to determine whether your father had survived or not, intermediately- trying to reconnect with friends and redetermining where you belonged, and long-term- coping with a traumatic event and the loss of friends and community. I am so very glad that you had a support network to guide you through that.
I went through a tornado when I was in 8th grade; it destroyed my entire town and school, but we were lucky to not lose any lives. At 31 years old I am still anxious every time we have a tornado warning; the experience affected me profoundly.
Also, I cannot imagine experiencing natural disasters on the scale and frequency as they do in Bangladesh!
ReplyDeletePatricia, I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying that experience was for you and your family, and at such a young age. It was lucky that you had resources available for you to talk about the tragedy. Did you experience any PTSD throughout the years following or do you feel that the help that you received immediately following was enough to help you work through your anxiety? I lost my father to a heart attack when I was thirteen years old and don't really feel that I had the time or resources to process it properly in the time following and I am still experiencing residual effects including depression and anxiety.
ReplyDeleteSteph
DeleteThe surrounding areas and National Agencies stepped in and provided good resources. That is why I am passionate about helping orhers . The only thing I have a problem with is being on boats and I can swim but prefer not in the deep part.
Patricia I have never been in a natural disaster but I did have the chance to go and help people that went through a hurricane. We took food , water, clothes and any thing that they may have needed. We also helped to clean up some of the worst areas that were destroyed. It was stressful for me just to see how messed up everything was. So I can imagine what it was like for you as a little child. Because I Know how I felt as an adult.
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