Disaster Mental Health after Hurricane Harvey

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Disaster Mental Health after Hurricane Harvey
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: How My Depression Started
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

Disaster Mental Health after Hurricane Harvey

Are you overwhelmed by Hurricane Harvey’s attack on Texas? If you’re overwhelmed, take a deep breath and let yourself feel the way you feel. Natural disasters cause, among other things,

• Destruction
• Death
• Loss and grief
• Homelessness
• Fear, anxiety, depression, acute stress disorder, and possibly, later, PTSD
• Anger and irritability
• Constant thoughts of the disaster, including both daytime thoughts and nightmares
• Frustration over how to care for children, self, and others

When the world has been turned upside down, how do you possibly straighten things out and take care of your mental health? How do you cope with a traumatic event like Harvey? The American Red Cross’s Disaster Mental Health Service shares these tips:

• Make safety your priority. Remove yourself from dangerous situations, possibly seeking shelter in approved locations.
• Maintain your physical health by eating as healthy as possible, staying hydrated with safe water, and resting.
• Stay connected to family and friends. Mutual support is important.
• If necessary, contact volunteers who can help you get your medication.
• Set priorities, little action steps to take rather than trying to tackle a huge problem at once.
• Be patient with yourself and others. This is unusual, and emotions and tempers will flare.

In addition to the Red Cross, SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) offers information, resources, and helplines: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms.

Related Articles Dealing with Disaster

• When Tragedy Strikes: How to Emotionally Handle Disaster
• Keeping Your Sanity in a Natural Disaster
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview
• What is Acute Stress Disorder, Acute Stress Reaction?

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: If you are experiencing the ongoing effects of Hurricane Harvey or have lived through other natural disasters, what did you do to take care of your mental health during the event? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• The Difficulty in Being Selfish When You Live with Bipolar
• When Racing Thoughts Lead To Reliving Repressed Memories
• Clickbait Contributes to Mental Health Stigma
• Why Can Childhood Sexual Abuse Lead to Promiscuity?
• The Miracle of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
• Experiencing Grief in Binge Eating Recovery Is Important
• Using Creative Outlets to Cope With a Stressful World
• Overwhelming Depression Makes Daily Tasks Difficult
• How Helping Others Improves Your Self-Esteem
• Coping With a Diagnosis of Mental Illness
• Hearing Voices on Vacation Was Tolerable With an Escape Plan
• Managing Anxiety During Natural Disasters
• Social Anxiety and Performance Anxiety Aren’t Your Directors
• Mental Illness and Addiction: My Co-occurring Brain Disorders
• Trauma Is Unfair: But You Can Heal Anyway
• Let Go of Negative Body Image in Eating Disorder Recovery

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

How My Depression Started

How does depression start? How did your depression start? Mine started 15 years ago. I was just a teenager trying to figure out how to fit in. It was an awkward time for me. I was a young Filipino girl in an upper-class white private school.

How My Depression Started

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Similarities Between Pansexuality and Bisexuality
2. Quit Delaying Your Self-Approval
3. A Verbal Abuse Quiz You Want To Take, Just To Be Sure

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"It’s hard to get rid of the demons inside you because they were holding you when nobody else did."

Read more mental health quotes.

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