What to expect post Hurricane – Trauma Reactions

When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, NC, I happened to be visiting my daughter. I flew in Thursday night thinking we would get a little rain and wind.

Instead, I spent four days without power and water in a one bedroom apartment with 4 Gen Z’s, 3 mice, and 2 cats.

We conserved the water we did have. We flushed with pool water. We inventoried food and limited food. We inventoried cash ($20 between the 4 of them. Mom had $150 on her.)

We made some coffee and eggs on a propane camping stove. We drove to hot spots to try to get some signal and communicate with the outside world. We checked on friends and found one friend’s apartment and car was completely destroyed. But another one’s was fine.

We read paper books and drew a lot. I had my teeny sewing kit with me so I taught one of them how to sew by hand.

Once we got the news that water was not going to be restored for weeks, we made a plan to evacuate.

One friend went to a brother’s house in a neighbor city and I drove the rest of them to Mia’s uncle in Raleigh (which is in East North Carolina). Then flew home from there.

I was grateful that I had a rental car and their one car had enough gas to get them about 2-3 hours out of Asheville to a station that had gas (two stations we stopped out beforehand did not).

If you’d like to hear my story through audio, you can listen to it here >>>>> HM303 Finding Light in the Eye of the Storm

I started to feel a little better . . . then Hurricane Milton hit affecting those already in distress in Florida.

All of these are signs of trauma. And they’re nothing to be “fixed” immediately (depending on your level of trauma). Most of them will pass within a couple of weeks.

Trauma Response / What to Expect Post Hurricanes

• Crying randomly
• Lack of concentration
• Replaying scenes that you saw
• Feeling discombobulated, angry, irritable, stressed
• Forgetting things
• Not sleeping well
• Calling the wrong numbers/people than you intended
• Questioning whether you should have done something differently

Here are some ideas for trauma release:

Free Vagus Nerves Reset (on YouTube)

Free Sound Release (on YouTube)

EMDR or IEMT (on my website)

Talking to friends and family

Talking to a therapist (a good one, not a shitty one)

Hypnosis (either myself or here’s a link to find one in your area)

Trauma reactions are no joke. Be kind to yourself if you’re going through it.

There’s nothing different you should have done. You did what you could manage at the time. And then you adjusted.

If you’re struggling with that, practice Radical Acceptance as much as you can. Reassure yourself, “I did what I could manage at the time. I can’t change the past. I can only adjust and move forward.”

Before you go, remember to get your Free Hypnosis to reduce Fear and Anxiety!

I work with people all over the world. If you want to feel better and have a transformed life, grab your Free Consultation with me to get the deets on working together (the how, the when, the where, and the how much)!

Click to Schedule a Free Consultation

Peace and Health,

Dr. Liz