Coping with Disasters

A collection of articles on mental health issues and outlets for those that have lived through a disaster. The articles define the affects of this experience and how to cope with the trauma to heal.

Katrina Blog at Tulane U. Provides a Venue for Reflection and Memory (1/23/06)
In an effort to give students and employees of Tulane University a way to talk about their experiences during Hurricane Katrina and how it has affected their lives, a new blog was created. It is called Katrina Stories, and it provides both an emotional outlet as well as an historical journal of the event. Additionally, George Mason University and the University of New Orleans, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History have created the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank: Preserving Stories From Katrina, Rita, and Wilma to provide a permanent record for historians and archivists through written stories, audio files, and photographs.

When Disaster Strikes
An overview of how to cope with the trauma of living through a disaster, including three things that are critically important to diminishing the distress.

Getting Past the Trauma
How mental health workers help victims of disasters cope with trauma and grief, and how rescue professionals handle their ongoing exposure to the disaster.

The Flip Side of Disaster
A study was conducted that has found that by finding something positive that has come out of a traumatic event, the victims were able to make a better recovery. Also the study found that those who were troubled mentally, economically, etc. before the disaster were able to recover better as this provided them a chance to start fresh. Emphasis on a "perceived benefit" could help survivors cope better.

Adolescents Struggle with Disaster
A real-life tragedy lead to a study of teens coping with the stress of a disaster. They were three times more likely to be experiencing depression, anxiety, and agression; four times more likely to be abusing alcohol; and the girls exhibited more mental trauma than the boys when compared to teens who did not experience a tragedy in their lives.

Facing the Unknown?
This article looks at children who lived through a hurricane and their fears of the possibility that another one could affect their lives again. Although the focus is on children, this fear could easily be felt by anyone of any age who has lived through a disaster.