Tornadoes, Recovery and My Faith

I know this might sound weird, but my faith was bolstered last year when I went to Joplin to do crisis work and psychological first aid for those who survived the tornado as well as those who were volunteering to help. That may not sound like the place for faith to gain strength, but it is. I have been thinking about the opportunities that present themselves for many, not all, that have been affected by the recent tornadoes in Branson half an hour from where I now live and Harrisburg ten minutes from where I grew up to grow in their faith.

I had a friend that lost a family member due to the Joplin tornado and she was devastated. I also provided support in my role as a counselor to several people that had lost family, loved ones, homes and businesses to the EF 5 tornado that ripped through Joplin. They were struggling with the severity of the damage and the senselessness or the losses that occurred when I first met them.

I agree with them, it is difficult to see why bad things happen, and to feel pain. That said, the worst pain that I have ever experienced brought me into a relationship with Christ. When I was not able to see my son and my father had just committed suicide, I was completely out of hope. I found that hope in Christ, and with that faith I will never be brought down again. I was still unprepared for the sites that I witnessed in Joplin. I am not sure if anything prepares you for a sight like Joplin.

When I went to Joplin, I was astounded at the carnage. I was in shock, but as I looked around when we got into town I saw tent after tent set up. Every single tent that I saw as I walked among them was giving out food, water, blankets, clothing, etc. They had what the people of Joplin were in dire need of. They asked for nothing in return, and were sharing not only supplies, but compassion, smiles and hope. Every tent that I went into was sponsored by a church. When I began talking to the people handing out the supplies, every one of the people that I talked to was a Christian.

Convoy of Hope brought up semi-trucks full of supplies. Convoy of Hope is a Christian ministry. Every where I went I saw Christians helping those in need. They were being Christ-like: loving, feeding and clothing those in need. It helped restore the part of my faith that was getting jaded by the judgmental, hateful people I run into occasionally who are Christian in name only. I saw that the church still comes together to help those who are hurting; whether they are Christian, Atheist, Agnostic or Jewish.

I also noticed that of the people that I talked to, there were two groups that seemed to have an advantage. The Christians that I talked to were doing better at coming to terms with why the devastation and loss had happened. They could look to the sky, even though it was sometimes out of anger or frustration, and say that at least the lost loved ones finally got to go home. "They are in a better place." Several Christians also stated, "I may not understand what is happening or why, but I do know that God has a plan."

The second group that I saw doing well were those in recovery. While many of the people that I talked to did not have a support system to help them or mentors/sponsors to talk to, those in recovery did. They were not searching for someone to talk to or people to help them, they already had the system in place that they needed. That, and I think that already living through hell had prepared them for going through it one more time.

I know that this will not make the loss any better for those who are hurting. What I do know is that when I am struggling through crisis, I have developed a support network that will be there to assist me. I also know that I have a God, an awesome God, that has taken all of my hurts and allowed me to grow from them and use them to help other people. I went from dealing dope to dealing hope, and I owe it all to Christ!

I hope that your faith gives you the insight and strength  that mine has. I also hope that the prayers being sent to you will give you the serenity to stay rational when confronted with adversity, the courage to face it, the hope that life can get better and the optimism to use your faith to make you stronger and overcome any obstacle that this world throws at you. Remember, this world is only temporary!

Joplin tornado and psychological first aid

Last night Joplin Missouri was hit with an F4 possibly an F5 tornado.The devastation appears to be prolific. The trauma that many in Joplin are experiencing will only be worse based on the weather report. There has been nonstop rain and thunder since the original tornado struck. To make matters worse, they are predicting weather patterns that are indicative of producing more tornadoes all day and into the evening tomorrow and Wednesday.

I found out this evening that I will probably be going to Joplin. While there, I will be working with those who were impacted either directly or indirectly by the tornado. In order to do that, last night I read a field operations guide for psychological first aid. Psychological first aid intervention strategies will allow me to work with children, adolescents, parents, caretakers and families.

The guidebook discussed how to be nonintrusive and compassionate in making connections with those who were traumatized by the event. It also looked at providing emotional and physical comfort as well as how to remain calm as it orients emotionally overwhelmed survivors. Giving assistance and gaining information are important to allow us to assess people's needs in order to address their concerns and allow them to feel more comfortable.

In a disaster situation you attempt to take care of people's basic needs. To explain this, let's look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs. For those unfamiliar with Maslow, he developed a pyramid that represented a biopsychosocial perspective of the needs that humans have. He felt that we all had five basic needs. They needed to be met from top to bottom, because without the one below the one above was impossible to meet.


Let's look at each level of the pyramid from bottom to top:
1. Physiological needs – water, food, sleep
2. Safety needs – security, order, family
3. Belonging and love needs – friendship, family (psychological)
4. Esteem needs – self esteem, confidence, achievement
5. Self actualization – can only occur when the four lower levels are met

If we do not take care of the physiological needs such as water, food and sleep the safety needs are immaterial. They will not be met. So offer them water, something to eat or a blanket to insure that their physiological needs are taken are of. After the physiological needs are met we begin to look at their safety needs (calm them down by being calm and talking slowly and maintaining eye contact), and then they're belonging and love needs (also called their psychological needs) by listening to them if they want to talk and validating how they feel. Those are the main  things that we focus on in psychological first aid, the bottom three levels. The top two levels will seldom be reached over the first several days and weeks while we are on scene.

There are some things that need to be remembered when doing psychological first aid with disaster survivors and those who have experienced traumas. Never assume that you know what the person is experiencing, as everyone reacts differently to the same situation. Also never assume that the survivors want to talk about the trauma they have just survived. This can actually cause more harm than good.

Sometimes it is best just to be supportive and to remain calm. That allows you to be seen as a person who can give survivors the physical and emotional comfort that they need. Some of the survivors will simply want to be left alone, while others will need to talk. Be prepared to listen, as people will generally tell you how you can assist them and what they need if you listen without interrupting.

The most important goals of psychological first aid are to allow the survivor to function, assist them with their current needs and reduce their distress to the situation. We're not there to debrief the survivor. If we ask them to give details of the traumatic experience of loss they have experienced this could traumatize them even more. We are not there to help them work through their trauma. There are generally many survivors, and we do not have the time guide each of them through their grief. We're there to do psychological triage.

We should reassure them that how they feel is to be expected. We should let them know that they will be angry at times, sad at times and lonely at times. We also need to let them know that if they continue to feel depression, they should talk to a grief counselor.

Never tell them that you know how they feel, that they will feel better soon or that they need to grief. They already know that they need to grieve. Also do not discount how they feel, by saying things like it could be worse or they're better off where they are or everything happens for a reason. Instead allow them to grieve, show them compassion and empathy.

There are some things that will allow survivors to overcome their trauma. Having a strong religious belief, positive beliefs, remaining optimistic or seeing others acting altruistically to support them. We need to find ways to empower them by giving them hope and allowing them to have some dignity.

Finally treat people the way you would want to be treated. Don't talk down to people, don't spread rumors, if you don't know the answer admit it, don't label people and do not guess what people are thinking or feeling. When listening to someone lean in, make eye contact and give them your complete attention. Never forget to let them know you understand what they're saying by reframing questions/active listening and then validate how they feel.

Remember to try and stay calm. This may be difficult because you are in a disaster area. This can be very overwhelming for you. Realize that you may need to talk to somebody. Always use the buddy system. Rotate shifts with them, take breaks and always monitor your own level of stress. If you are stressed out, how can you possibly help someone else destress. Hope this helps anyone who is attempting to volunteer in disaster relief and traumatic situations.

My prayers go out to all of those who were impacted by the storms and tornados that swept across the United States over the past two days and today as well. I hope that you will join me in praying for those impacted as well as the volunteers who are rushing to help out either in person or by donating goods and giving blood.