08 Jan PTSD and Marshall Fire Recovery
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PTSD AND MARSHALL FIRE RECOVERY
08 JAN PTSD AND MARSHALL FIRE RECOVERY
For the past year, I have been seeing people for therapy who lost homes & had homes damaged in the Marshall fire through Boulder county crisis.
This fire in LA is re-traumatizing in for a lot of people here who were affected by the Marshall fire in Boulder Louisville areas. We empathize with the fear, we remember the feelings and the dissociation involved with a sudden unexpected disaster. No one understands what is happening, everything happens so quickly, grabbing a few things out of your house, to evacuate & preserve your life & lives of pets, family and neighbors, if you are lucky….
I remember the feeling of dissociation as I evacuated, feeling my head spin, a little dizzy and out of my body. Not knowing where to go, or where I would be safe.
I’m sure this was a familiar feeling to all involved.
I remember grabbing some things I knew I would need, but leaving the rest behind, and feeling like I was going to lose everything.
Here are some counselor recommends for self care and regulation, as we go through yet another experience of PTSD, empathizing with people that are currently evacuating and losing homes in Pacific Palisades and other areas of LA….
I suggest you limit your passive intake of traumatizing news, It is very damaging to the brain, and nervous system. We usually forget to breathe, because of the trauma, and the energy can jump right into your body.
And because we’re sitting still, it’s like our body is in freeze mode, and not able to do anything with the trauma we witnessed.
If you don’t do therapy or EMDR, to correct the damage done after PTSD, and trauma big and small,
The collateral damage affects the memory centers of the brain, as the amygdala is not meant to be overactive for long periods of time…. It is only meant to kick into gear to help us fight, or run away, to escape danger.
EMDR therapy, has been proven and shown to help the brain reboot and re-process trauma, helping the hippocampus and frontal cortex, while decreasing the stress reactions and fearful emotions and trauma responses.
Some suggestions for people feeling re•traumatized, are to remember to breathe deeply, get out in nature, do some EFT tapping, work out of choice: yoga, swimming, sauna, anything with heart rate variability, also get acupuncture and massage. All of this will help move the stress from these fear based emotions out of your body and muscle memory. Remember to do excellent self care and regulate your nervous system in ways that work for you.
The news of the fires in LA is difficult for me as well, as an empathic person and therapist. I feel a heavy burden in my heart, and a knowing of what all of these people are going to go through in the next 3 to 5 years. I’ve been walking this road, in therapy, with people who are going through the PTSD, grief, fear and loss. I’ve completed many hours of counseling, 1000 hours, with BoCo Crisis and Jewish Family Services, who were kind enough to use the donation money received, to help pay for 15 hours of counseling for people who were fire affected.
Yes, it takes this long, 3 plus years, to haggle with Insurance, having to take out loans to rebuild due to not enough reimbursement from insurance, the chronic long term stress on marriages and families is unreal. Be gentle, be kind, and help where you can.
Many friends & fire affected people and families in this area, have been taken advantage of by untrustworthy and unqualified people rushing into make money post fire, from cleaning agencies to builders. This extra stress adds insult to injury, has caused lawsuits, and some people to even lose their homes.
Do some tapping and extra good self care. Remember what you are grateful for, send prayers and positive energy, and help where you can.
TAGS: EMDR, fire, PTSD, recovery, self care, trauma
Jayma Jamieson, MA, NCC, LPC
A boulder body mind Spirit counseling, LLC.