Tips on Self-Care

How can I help myself?

Whatever feeling you are feeling is VALID.
There are a number of steps you can take to help restore emotional well being and a sense of control in your life, including:

• Give yourself time to adjust. Anticipate that this will be a difficult time in your life. Allow yourself to mourn the losses you have experienced.

• Ask for support from people who care about you and who will listen to your concerns. If those closest to you also have experienced or witnessed the wildfire, realize that they may not be able to be as supportive as usual.

• Turn it off and take a break. You may want to keep informed, but try to limit the amount of news you take in whether it’s from the internet, television, newspapers, or magazines. While getting the news informs you, being over exposed to the news can actually increase your stress.

• Find out about local support groups that are available for those who have suffered as a result of the wildfires. Particularly those that are led by appropriately trained and experienced professionals such as psychologists. These groups can be especially helpful for people with limited personal support systems.

• Engage in healthy behaviors to enhance your ability to cope with excessive stress. Eat well-balanced meals, get some exercise and try to rest. If you experience ongoing difficulties with sleep, you may be able to find some relief through relaxation techniques. Avoid alcohol and drugs because they can suppress your feelings rather than help you to manage or lessen your distress. They can also intensify your emotional or physical pain.

• Establish or reestablish routines such as eating meals at regular times and following an exercise program. Schedule some breaks to distract yourself from thinking about the fire and focus instead on something you enjoy. Try to do something that will lift your spirits.

• Avoid major life decisions such as switching jobs, making large purchases, or making sudden changes in your relationships. These activities have their own stresses that can exacerbate your current circumstances.

Immediately Following a Wildfire: Specific Information for Schools

Allow time for staff to discuss their feelings and share their experiences. A wildfire may result in the temporary closure of a school. Upon return to school, it is important to allow time for a group discussion (in a safe and caring context) for staff to discuss their feelings and share their experiences. It is essential that teachers and staff be given permission to take care of themselves in order to ensure that they will be able to help their students. Handouts regarding possible trauma reactions among children and other relevant information can be valuable resources for caring adults (e.g., some handouts are available at www.nasponline.org). School personnel (including your school crisis team members) should also have the opportunity to receive support from a trained mental health professional. Providing crisis intervention is emotionally draining, and caregivers will need an opportunity to process their crisis response. This could include teachers and other school staff if they have been serving as crisis caregivers for students.

Provide time for students to discuss the wildfire. Depending on the situation, teachers may be able to guide this discussion in class, or students can meet with the school psychologist or other mental health professional for a group crisis intervention. Classroom discussions help children to understand the wildfire. They also encourage students to develop effective means of coping, discover that their classmates share similar questions, and develop peer support networks. Teachers should not be expected to conduct such discussions if children are severely impacted or if they themselves are distressed.

Identify children and youth who are high risk and plan interventions. Risk factors are outlined in the above section on children’s reactions. Interventions may include classroom discussions, individual counseling, small-group counseling, or family therapy. From classroom discussions, and by maintaining close contact with teachers and parents, the school crisis response team can help determine which students need counseling services. A mechanism also needs to be in place for self-referral and parent referral of students.

Secure additional mental health support. Although many caregivers are often willing to provide support during the immediate aftermath of a wildfire, long-term services may be lacking. School mental health professionals can help provide and coordinate mental health services, but it is important to connect with community resources as well in order to provide such long-term assistance. Ideally these relationships would be established in advance.