This has turned out to be an extremely active and dangerous hurricane season so far. Natural disasters can greatly affect the mental health of impacted communities, both adults and children.
In the aftermath of a hurricane, rates of depression and anxiety go up in many kids. The closer to the event, the more trauma the child actually went through or directly witnessed, and the more difficult the circumstances in the days, weeks and months following the hurricane, the more likely a child will struggle with mood or anxiety issues.
It is, of course, quite normal for a child to experience fear and stress and to become upset at the time of a huge storm and even in its immediate aftermath. Children take their cues from their parents, so addressing your own anxiety first goes a long way towards helping your child.
[Read: Preparing for a Natural Disaster When You Have Diabetes.]
Allow children to express their feelings in whatever way works for their style and developmental stage. This may mean talking about their feelings and fears, or they may express themselves in other ways, such as through play, drawing or painting.
Let them ask questions and answer as honestly as possible. The answer to some questions may simply be, “I don’t know.” Managing living with uncertainty about the future is part of dealing with the trauma. At the same time you are providing answers, reassure them that you’re there for them, and that you love them and will take care of them. Talk to your kids about methods your family will be using to cope with the disaster, whether that is how you’ll make repairs, living arrangements, connecting with your community and helping others.
[See: 10 Ways to Raise a Giving Child.]
For those children who are not as directly affected and uprooted by a natural disaster, helping others in the community who have been directly impacted is a wonderful coping mechanism to deal with feelings of anxiety and helplessness. Help your child do a drive for supplies, make cards for other kids, or provide meals or collect food donations for families in need.
While it’s important to be honest with children, it’s also a good idea to keep them from being inundated by images and reports on the disaster that are sometimes hard to miss with 24/7 news coverage. Repeated exposure to images and the worst of the tragedy can increase anxiety and fear in children. Keep the news off in your home and help your child avoid the constant stream of news on social media as well.
Some kids will have an acute reaction to this trauma, but within a matter of weeks resume their typical functioning and have manageable feelings. A small percentage of children, however, may experience more distressing symptoms, such regressing in regards to already accomplished milestones, like wetting the bed or being unable to sleep alone, and pull away from friends or have difficulty sleeping with loss of appetite and decline in their ability to do schoolwork. If these symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks, a child may require a professional evaluation and treatment to get back on track.
[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health.]
Most important in helping children who have been through a natural disaster is to not have them avoid something because of the trauma. If they fear rain or thunderstorms after a hurricane, for example, slowly but consistently expose them to these things, and over time their fear will dissipate. Avoidance reinforces the fear, and the more a child avoids out of fear, the smaller their world becomes.
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Helping Kids Weather the Mental Health Impact of a Natural Disaster originally appeared on usnews.com
