Bushfires and Mental Health

The experiences of the bushfires in Australia over the past months have been difficult for so many Australians.  The fires have significantly impacted and will continue to impact on mental health and wellbeing.  The Australian Red Cross and the Australian Psychological Society have published helpful resources for professionals and individuals. 

One of the key things to remember is that our responses to these crises and traumas will be different for everyone.  Our best ways of managing and taking care of ourselves will also be individual. 

Many people recover well from exposure to disasters with some basic support.  That support might initially be physical, a safe place to stay, food to eat, money to pay the bills.  Basic support also includes time to rest and relax and to connect with others.

Recognise that you have been through a distressing experience and give yourself permission to experience some reaction to it. Perhaps during the crisis period, you felt you had to be strong for others.  Now that you are out of danger you don’t have to be tough.   

People react in many ways. 

From numbness, to anger and frustration, sadness and despair, guilt or regret, euphoria and excitement, helplessness and longing for what is lost –all are ‘normal’ responses to a very abnormal situation.  You may also feel physical responses –headaches, difficulty sleeping, eating and digestion problems, weight loss or gain.  Your past experiences of other traumatic situations may be deepening these responses so it can help to acknowledge the previous experiences as well as more recent ones.

Don’t be angry with yourself for your responses, instead treat yourself with compassion – as you would a close friend who has been through a difficult experience. 

Express your feelings.  For you, that might mean talking with someone or writing in a diary, creating some art, or playing music.

Find people who support you – connect with friends, family, your local community. Those who are close by may be helpful as they may have shared the experience with you, but remember they too have had significant exposure and may need to take care of themselves in their own way.  

Rest, eat well, drink lots of fluids - avoid overuse of alcohol or other drugs to cope.

Take time away from social media, news programs or articles where you are re-exposed to the sights and sounds of the bushfires. If you need to keep watching and listening, try and focus your attention on the stories of kindness and courage.

Avoid making any major decisions or big life changes.  Give yourself time to recover.

In reality we know this stuff, our challenge is to actually do it.

Above all, be kind to yourself and others at this difficult time.

And if you need to – reach out for help.

Lifeline            13 11 14

Beyond Blue   1300 22 4636

Red Cross       1800 733 276

Photo Courtesy of Brendan from Mallacoota

Donate to help the Australian Bushfire Crisis

I know many of you around the world and many of us here in Australia feel powerless to do anything to help in this time of need.  Donating is something we can do.

There are so many amazing organisations who are working to fight fires and support those who have been impacted.  Here are some opportunities for giving to support the work. I may be biased a little towards those who have been working in NSW, as I’ve seen more of their work. Please feel free to mention other groups in the comments below.

Australia relies predominantly on volunteer firefighters reasons here Like the professionals they work alongside they are amazing – well trained, courageous, incredibly hard working.  In NSW you can donate to the RFS here –either to the Rural Fire Service organisation or to a local brigade if there is a specific one you want to support.  This money won’t be used to pay the volunteers but for equipment and training.

Some of the other states volunteer fire-fighting organisations are

Victoria – CFA Country Fire Association

Queensland – RFBAQ –Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland

South Australia – CFS –Country Fire Service

Also on the front line are support organisations who manage evacuation centres and provide physical, financial and emotional support for those who are at risk of losing their homes or who already have lost their homes.

The Red Cross provide an amazing service as do

The Salvation Army also

St Vinnies

Wildlife has been severely impacted.  Heartbreakingly it is estimated over 480 million animals and birds have died.  Many have been severely burnt and so many habitats have been destroyed that this will have an on-going impact.  Our largest organisation working in this area is WIRES who had already been very involved before the most recent NYE fires.

The earlier fires in November and December destroyed large areas of koala habitats on the north coast of NSW.  A local specialist group has been working to save and heal injured koalas  –you can see their work here and donate here.

If you prefer to give things rather than cash the best way to do that is respond to specific requests.  GIVIT provides opportunities to give specific items to people who need them.

There is always something we can do to help others - even sharing a kind message of love and support is appreciated at these times. 

Photo from Menai NSW RFS Brigade FB page.

Holidays and Celebrations

Like many of you I’m looking at my schedule and planning what needs to be completed between now and the end of the year.  The last few days of the countdown is on.  Each year it seems that the race to festivities and celebrations begins sooner.  Here in Australia Christmas decorations have been in most department stores and many of the large shopping malls for the past two months.

It’s easy to become cynical and negative as the festivities combine with end-of-year pressures creating a pressure cooker effect.  Work tasks combine with work related celebrations and events and leave little time to consider family needs or to reflect on the meaning behind celebrations. 

For expats there are the added challenges of adapting to a culture that may not acknowledge your celebration, or where the climate is opposite to your usual festive triggers, or where your favourite food or decorations may be absent.   

We all enjoy special times and the opportunity to enjoy a new celebration or provide an added twist to an old celebration can be a memory maker.  But once again it requires expats to make a conscious choice – to choose to celebrate, to explore new possibilities and sometimes to be willing to let go of old traditions or adapt them to work in a new location.

We all need holidays to mark the passage of the year.  We need times to reflect on the things that are important to us, our family, friends and cultural and spiritual heritages.  And we need time out from work to remind us what is really important!

I hope you will celebrate well wherever you are and whatever you are celebrating.  I extend wishes of peace and joy to you, your workplaces and families.

And take care of yourselves and each other.

It’s not all about culture, or is it?

Recently a psychologist posted on a discussion board that I belong to asking How does culture affect positive psychology interventions, especially at work? 

It’s a great question and one that we can think of more broadly by asking – How does culture affect people at work?

You may be tempted to think that we leave our culture behind when we go to work.  Or that culture impacts on some isolated aspects at work – perhaps our communication preferences. 

As a coachee recently said to me – “this issue isn’t about culture Trisha, it’s about performance”. 

The reality is our culture influences everything.

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Bushfire information for Australia

During bushfire season keep up-to-date with the latest warnings and information about bushfires through the information page relevant to your State below.  The websites have information on how to assess your risk, how to plan and prepare, and how to get information about the latest updates and warnings.

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