The rest of the world watched their TVs, social media, and online as Alaska was struck not long ago with one of the biggest earthquakes in our area\u2019s history. Those people have moved on to watch other natural disasters or big news stories, but for those of us who live here in the Anchorage area, however, the reality of what we experienced continues to affect our daily lives in so many ways.<\/p>\n
As we live and deal with the aftereffects of November 30\u2019s 7.0-magnitude quake, the frightening tsunami warnings, and what seems like never-ending aftershocks, many of us are struggling with emotional, psychological and even physical trauma that can often be categorized as PTSD. According to the Alaska Earthquake Center website, we\u2019ve experienced 6,000 aftershocks since the main earthquake, with some of the biggest ones at the 5.0 magnitude range. It\u2019s little wonder that our communities are dealing with the equivalent of PTSD, with everyone from young children to senior citizens feeling unsure and anxious in their daily lives.<\/p>\n
PTSD from earthquakes and nature disasters is not an unknown phenomenon. In fact, a study published in 2014 by the National Institutes of Health reported that up to 87 percent of people who survived a catastrophic earthquake showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
Signs of PTSD can include anxiety, jumpiness, anger, sadness or depression, and insomnia. Children might have trouble sleeping, nightmares, inability to focus in school and abnormal fears that strike day and night. If symptoms like this last for more than a month, it\u2019s advisable to seek professional help.<\/p>\n
For now, here\u2019s some coping advice given by experts in PTSD:<\/p>\n
Learning more about PTSD, and ways to deal with it, is the reason we decided to write this article for you all today. As we rebuild our lives and try to return to a \u201cnormal\u201d way of life, we can only do better if we work together as a community, helping each other, lifting each other up, offering support and resources when and where we see a need, and always moving forward.<\/p>\n
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