BEMIDJI — After any major storm event, heightened awareness of upcoming severe weather is only natural.
Residual feelings from the June 21 Bemidji storm are no exception as community members hurry to warn others on social media that a storm — or the chance for a storm — may be imminent once again.
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For some, such notification simply serves as a means of preparation while for others, it’s a source of anxiety.
Though not a clinical diagnosis, storm anxiety has become a popularized term.
“When people use that term, it really means that internal reaction to the idea of an upcoming storm,” Sanford Bemidji’s Behavioral Health Director Ashlea McMartin said. “If we’ve been through a collective experience — like a bad storm — it’s very relatable for a lot of people.”
Notable signs of storm anxiety can include panic, difficulty falling asleep or sitting still, or increased preparation in ways a person hasn’t done before.
“When we have a disaster like we did, almost every single person will have increased psychological stress,” McMartin said. “The intensity levels are going to vary based on how close you were to the storm and how you were impacted by the storm.”
Such a stress increase reaches its highest intensity immediately after a severe weather event and often decreases with time.
“Right now, in such a close window to the storm itself, people are going to have increased awareness and sensitivity to the weather,” McMartin added. “I just want to reassure people that over time as we have additional storms in which we come out alright, that will be new information that our nervous system takes in and reminds us that 99% of the time when there’s a storm, we’re just fine.”
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Methods of coping
Coping with a heightened response to severe weather is hardly an exact science, and coping strategies can vary widely by person.
“What’s hard is that there’s not a magical equation that works for everyone. It’s really individualized,” McMartin said. “It’s about what your nervous system needs to be reassured that you’re safe, you’re secure and that you’re going to be OK.”
But the first step is always to recognize how a person is reacting to the news of an impending weather event.
“Once you have that awareness, then it’s a matter of figuring out what is the right thing for you and wherever you’re at in your immediate surroundings,” McMartin mentioned.
For some people, turning on the weather station can be a way to ease anxiety — essentially a “knowledge is power” coping strategy.
However, McMartin noted a fine line between preparing and obsessing, the latter of which could fuel storm anxiety rather than alleviate it.
“If you’re going on Bemidji Chit Chat (on Facebook), seeing all of this communication about how people are preparing, you’re reading that and you think ‘Our community’s ready, phew!’ then go on Bemidji Chit Chat,” McMartin detailed. “If you’re going on Bemidji Chit Chat, you’re watching the feed and you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s getting so much worse,’ and you start to feel paralyzed by that information, it’s probably time to turn it off and practice a different coping skill.”
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Mobile applications such as PTSD Coach offer a guide that leads users through the coping process. Such apps typically ask about symptoms, have the user rate their symptoms based on severity and offer a useful coping strategy.
Other coping methods, particularly for children, can include distraction. If raucous thunder pierces the sky, somebody may put on headphones and listen to music that is comparatively calming.
A certain smell, comfort food or a weighted blanket may provide relief for others.
The road to recovery
McMartin emphasized that long-term recovery extends beyond the debris clean-up process and insurance claims that often result from severe weather. A grief and bereavement process exists for natural disasters, which can span two to five years.
“There’s a misunderstanding that grief is only tied to death. The reality is that there’s an internal process that we go through when we lose something,” she said. “Grief is related to any kind of loss.”
McMartin noted a particular grief around loss of trees — an inherent piece of the Northwoods’ identity — a loss that hits close to home.
“There are a couple of trees that we lost in our yard that are probably close to a hundred years old,” she said, “and so if I imagine who planted that seed and trusted that it would grow, and then all of the generations that have interacted with that tree to get it to this point ... to think that I was present when it was destroyed is pretty humbling to think about.”
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As the grief and bereavement process continues, acknowledging silver linings from the storm can provide additional comfort particularly from parent to child.
“If it’s related to the trees falling, you might remind them that not every single tree fell,” McMartin said. “You might look outside your window and say ‘Here’s one that’s still standing strong.’”
Though loosely defined, completing the grief and bereavement process does not mean a person is exactly who they were before the storm.
“Recovery doesn’t mean that we’re back to the same state (pre-storm) because we’ve all been through something that was very difficult and scary,” McMartin left off. “It’s about finding a new equilibrium after the disaster.”
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