Coping with the impacts of a Cyclone. Experiencing a cyclone can be a traumatic event, and the emotional impact often lingers long after the physical damage has been repaired. In the aftermath of a cyclone, it’s common to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or even disconnected. This tip sheet is designed to help you navigate the psychological challenges that may arise during the recovery process. By understanding the emotional effects of such a traumatic experience and learning coping strategies, you can take proactive steps toward healing. Whether you’re dealing with feelings of loss, stress, or uncertainty, these tips will support you in regaining your emotional well-being and rebuilding a sense of stability. Recovery is a gradual process, and it’s important to seek help when needed, be patient with yourself, and prioritise your mental health as you move forward.

Part 1: QUICK TIPS

Before the Cyclone

• Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with weather forecasts and warnings from reliable sources & government sources.
• Prepare a Plan: Have an emergency plan in place. Know where to go and what to do if a cyclone hits.
• Build an Emergency Kit: Include essentials like water, non-perishable food, medications, important documents, and first-aid supplies.
• Stay Connected: Keep in touch with family, friends, and neighbours. Share your plans and check on each other.

During the Cyclone

• Stay Calm: Try to remain calm and composed. Your calmness can help others around you, especially children.
• Follow Safety Protocols: Adhere to the guidelines provided by local authorities. Stay indoors and away from windows.
• Limit Media Exposure: Continuous exposure to news about the cyclone can increase anxiety. Take breaks from the media.

After the Cyclone

• Acknowledge Your Feelings: It’s normal to feel a range of emotions after a stressful event. Allow yourself to feel and express these emotions.
• Seek Support: Talk to friends, family, or a mental health professional about your experiences and feelings. Free services such as Lifeline counselling are also available. You may also have access to free counselling from your employer’s Employee Assistance Program.
• Engage in Self-Care: Take care of your physical and mental health. Eat well, get enough sleep, and engage in activities you enjoy.
• Stay Connected: Maintain communication with your support network. Social connections can provide comfort and reassurance.
• Limit Media Exposure: While it’s important to stay informed, too much exposure to distressing news can be overwhelming. Set boundaries for media consumption.
• Help Others: Helping others can provide a sense of purpose and community. Volunteer or support those in need if you are able.

For Children

• Stay Calm: Children take cues from adults. Stay calm and reassure them that they are safe.
• Explain in Simple Terms: Use age-appropriate language to explain what is happening and what to expect.
• Encourage Expression: Allow children to express their feelings through talking, drawing, or playing.
• Maintain Routines: Try to keep routines as normal as possible to provide a sense of stability.
• Provide Comfort: Offer extra comfort and reassurance. Spend quality time together and engage in comforting activities.

Remember, it’s important to take care of your mental health during and after a cyclone. Seeking support and staying connected can make a significant difference. Stay safe!

Part 2: RECOVERY TIPS

Looking after ourselves and others during a natural disaster 

Here are some tips, including self-care, staying connected, sleep and stress management, recovery planning and seeking help.

SELF-CARE:  Just like every time we get on a flight and the safety presentation advises us to make sure we put our own oxygen masks on before we help others, self-care is a priority when we strive to respond during major events, especially when we try to go the extra yard in high pressure and protracted situations.

SLEEP: Sleep loss and fatigue have a big impact on psychological and emotional functioning, which can impact critical decision-making. While people can usually (physically) work just as hard over just as many hours, whether they have had enough sleep or not, sleep loss impairs decision making to the same extent as blood alcohol concentrations that exceed 0.05%. So, without good sleep we start making poorer decisions that could actually increase risk to safety, particularly when people are dealing with disaster between attending their normal employment.

STESS MANAGEMENT: During disasters we can spend extended periods of time in ‘high stress’. We call this high stress because our body and brain are continually in a state of high adrenalin, similar to the Fight or Flight reactions we have when we are threatened by some potential stressful events.

The high stress reaction really helps us by giving us the energy to go above and beyond our normal efforts and rise to the challenge of disasters. The high stress reaction is often behind stories of when people show bravery in the face of danger or the stories of amazing endurance. However, the stress reaction can sometimes cause us difficulties once the emergency is over:

• Some people find it difficult to turn off their stress reaction, to sleep well, think clearly, or feel settled.
• Others can struggle emotionally. The feelings that can drive a ‘fight or flight’ reaction often resemble anxiety or anger and these can continue even after the challenges are over.
• Sometimes people feel uneasy, other times people feel angry and irritable (and their families can often be aware of these feelings being expressed).
• Some people will actually feel a loss of emotions like feeling empty or numb. Sometimes these are a result of the exhaustion of protracted periods of high stress and sometimes numbness can be a way our body protects us from high stress.

RECOVERY PLANNING: Keep in mind that unusual reactions are normal. We should expect our body and brain to take some time to settle and even though this may feel uncomfortable, you shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that there is something wrong with you.

Develop a recovery plan. Just like affected communities, towns, and organisations do after disasters, you need to think about what you’ll do to maximise your recovery, such as:

• Take stock – Allow yourself time to absorb your experiences and become aware of what ongoing reactions you’re having.
• Time out – even if you feel fine, allow yourself to rest and sleep. Sleep is not only important for clear thinking and re-energising, research shows it helps our brain process distressing information and allows us to move on. Also, remember too much alcohol prevents good sleep.
• Some form of relaxation or mindfulness exercises have also been shown to help reduce stress and gather clear thoughts.
• Take time to Exercise – exercise is great for your sleep (because it makes you tired) and appetite (because you need to replace lost energy). Exercise is also great because it brings on all of the natural ’stress down’ chemicals our body uses to relax.
• Talk to someone – social support, even if it’s talking about nothing specific, is a powerful tool for personal resilience. Staying connected to people who understand and support you can help maintain and boost your wellbeing.

SEEKING HELP: People are resilient and almost always find their way successfully through their return after challenging times but it’s important that if you are concerned about anything you are experiencing and or you feel your reactions are lasting too long (usually most reactions settle within 2-4 weeks) then talk to a professional – a small amount of early strategies from an expert can prevent a long term challenge. You’re not alone, help is available.

More tips for stress management and dealing with stressful events can be found on our Open Resources page.

As part of our Training suite, YES Psychology provides critical incident preparedness workshops for leaders and organisations, focused on aspects of effective leadership actions, people support and promoting recovery.