Long Term
“The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.” Job 20:11
“We’ve lived through our share of life. But the older you get the harder to bounce back. We have found that we spend more time just talking and watching TV than we do in getting things moving foreword. In the winter we discussed what needed to be done in the spring. Yet, as the snow melts away and we can see the mess… the energy to get busy just doesn’t seem like it is there.”
The depressive aspect of dealing with trauma can have much longer effects than we recognize. After the initial rush of energy after a disaster, a slowly consuming sense of tiredness and lack of ability to stay focused on making investments of energy into extended rebuilding and clean up start to set in. During this time, increased consumption of food, alcohol, or escapism may plague an individual or family. Added to these syndrome may include the onset of physical health problems.
As individuals or families slowly disappear from church or community activities, it might appear to be a phase they are going through. Family physicians may be involved in treating the symptoms, while missing the underlying cause of the problem, the physiological impact of living through a disaster. Today, we have acknowledged the long term impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on homeless vets. Yet, how much effort do we take to identify the emotional impact of people in our own community.
For our Vets they can look to the VA to support them with therapeutic counseling services within which their needs are focused upon. A few week or months after a disaster, who is there to listen? Admittedly, case workers working with various organizations, gather in long-term recovery teams whose main focus is assisting in dealing with the material aspects of a disaster.
We lift up families, and support structures that gather around disaster victims. Give them wisdom and insight into dealing with trauma. Amen
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