When I was in the midst of a personal crisis as a young journalism student, it was a wise professor who advised me to take a step back and take it “hour by hour.” Thinking about the enormity of my situation was overwhelming, but focusing on small tasks felt more manageable.
It’s not a piece of advice that solved my problems by any means, but it gave me a strategy to stay (somewhat) sane during a time of crisis.
In the midst of devastating fires in Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as the one year anniversary of floods in Southeast San Diego, survivors are likely dealing with mental stress while trying to rebuild their lives.
Sean Leonard, a psychiatric nurse practitioner from Healthy Life Recovery in San Diego, said there’s plenty of short-term and long-term actions people can take following a traumatic event.
Safety first
In the immediate aftermath, it’s important to first make sure you’re safe, Leonard advises.
“Then we work straight on the mental health part, and it's usually we make sure that … you're in touch with loved ones or your support network,” Leonard said. “And definitely sharing technology updates but balance it out to avoid overwhelming yourself. A lot of people … they tend to over utilize technology and it really drains their self-care.”
Patients can also seek mental health care at an emergency room for urgent needs but care there can be limited.
Long-term healing
For long-term healing, Leonard recommends self-care activities like sleep, light physical activities, breathing and mindfulness exercises. Things like hobbies, music and spending time with pets can restore normalcy to people’s lives, which can be helpful.
For professional care, patients can seek out options like talk therapy, medication and even alternative techniques like photobiomodulation, a laser light therapy.
But sometimes people aren’t ready for professional help — and that’s OK.
“It’s in that crisis moment, you can't express what you're feeling. You're still going through it, so to sit there and to talk about your emotions — it might be difficult for most,” Leonard said. “If you can engage in these self-care type mental health practices, it will actually get you to the point where you can seek out a medical provider, a therapist or psychiatry.”
Tips from KPBS readers
KPBS asked our readers what their mental health tips are. Here’s what they had to say:
“My faith tradition keeps me going.”Anonymous
“Don't be afraid to ask for help. Keep good company/support around you. Try to ‘debrief’ with someone daily with where you are and how you're feeling that day. Know whatever you are feeling is normal, and a lot of normal feelings don't feel very good. Find whatever that one self-soothing thing is that (has) worked for you in the past and do it everyday. Your self-care is a must now. This could be a breathing exercise, meditating, taking a walk, talking to someone, journaling, etc. Get good sleep. Eat.”Naomi Lake
“Mantra: ‘Get to work,’ it will take your mind off your troubles and every tiny step will help you to see your life improve.”Bianca Romani
"During the global pandemic, a friend texted me four profound words of advice — ‘Take care of yourself!’
Knowing I was brought up to believe that self care was selfish, another friend texted, ‘Consider yourself a first responder! Put your health and safety first. Only then, can you care for others.’
Another friend texted ‘Get outside. Take the dog for a walk.’
When I’m downhearted, doing something like feeding the birds, picking up neighborhood trash, or texting a friend lifts my spirits."Erin Elaine Ruocco
“Coming back to basics sometimes is part of our journey to find our next step in.”@sfximena via Instagram
