Reacting to Disaster

With all the natural and unnatural disasters our country is experiencing,  you may have found yourself reflecting on past shame or regret,  or future worries.  Some of you may even feel so affected by recent natural disasters and or devastating shootings as to be experiencing guilt for having survived these horrific events.  This guilt can sometimes manifest in negative thoughts about the self and world;  in painful emotions;  or in disturbing dreams about recent events. These manifestations can exacerbate overwhelming emotions and lead to poor attention and concentration; distracting people from being effective in their here and now life experiences.  Additionally,  overwhelming emotions can cause distress in our relationships and occupational interactions leaving people feeling more lonely and isolated over time. Real or imagined isolation can ultimately lead to dysphoria, panic, or other difficult to manage symptoms, like dissociation.  

A helpful way to begin protecting your mind from overwhelming emotions may be to find times to increase mindfulness through grounding techniques. Grounding techniques work best when you can check in with your grief foremost.  This means you must intentionally choose to be kind to yourself.  Start by accepting your feelings without judgment. Just like joy,  a difficult emotion like guilt or anger has useful properties as valid emotions. But, be aware, strong emotions can be more easily distorted to justify our reactions. Choose to be responsive through grounding versus reactive to disaster. 

Grounding can be difficult to initiate when you're in the depths of your painful emotion; but grounding is easy to execute. One such grounding technique that has affects on reducing fear and dissociation begins with focusing on the sensations around you. You may choose to use all 5 or just one of your brain's abilities to process the environment:  touch,  taste,  hear, see,  or smell.  I recommend using all 5 until you understand what your body responds to best. 
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For example,  look for 5 things to name in your immediate environment. If you really struggle with being present in the moment, try locating 5 things and describing each of them. Next,  listen for 4 different sounds.  Start with the furthest sound you can hear and then work your way in to notice the closest sounds.  Then,  find 3 things you can touch near you.  Your tongue to the roof of your mouth,  your feet to the ground,  or the skin on your ear lobe. After that,  notice 2 smells. Perhaps it's the smell of your perfume or smell of the air. Finally,  taste one thing. I encourage people to carry a peppermint or tea bag for hot tea with them at all times to promote coping ahead with grounding techniques. Whatever you use, taste the coolness or the warmth of your chosen object. Notice the texture and finish of the object as well.  If it is difficult to simply notice,  begin describing your taste experience. 

Other grounding techniques include grounding with the breath and grounding with affirmations. 
If you'd like to learn more about grounding techniques to manage overwhelming emotions, and it's benefits please feel free to call at 925.482.6554 or visit my site at DrOjuri.com

Kindly, 
​Dr. Oshi-Ojuri