With the townsite in Jasper National Park evacuated due to a wildfire and many waiting to hear what has happened to their homes, psychologists say there are things people can do to cope and process the “significant” mental health and emotional impacts of the fire.
About 25,000 people were evacuated before flames entered the community late Wednesday, with Parks Canada confirming multiple buildings in the mountain town were impacted and firefighters were combatting structural fires.
Alex Bierman, a University of Calgary sociology professor, told Global News that while people don’t know the status of their homes, a major challenge with these kinds of situations stems from the loss of control.
“What people who are going to be uprooted from their homes will experience likely is a strong sense of powerlessness,” he said.
Experts say this can be accompanied with intrusive thoughts, a sense of reliving the event or emotional numbness, or even in the short term, feelings of anxiety, confusion or disruption of sleep.
Dr. Katy Kamkar, a clinical psychologist in Toronto, says people should not ignore how they are feeling as they look to cope with the stress and grief.
“It’s always helpful to acknowledge our feelings and allowing ourselves to feel and express our emotions,” she said.
Wildfires can disrupt the connections and support networks as well, either through separation or isolation. Bierman notes wildfires often cause a loss of social connection from the network of people you’ve created a bond with.
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But Kamkar says it is that isolation people should try to avoid as communication with others, such as loved ones and community members, can help with healing.
“Talking to family, friends, support groups, in terms of our experiences, our feelings, it’s very helpful and crucial for our emotional recovery and to know that we are not alone,” Kamkar stresses.
She added it can be helpful when coping with the stress to lean into structure, a form of routine that may help provide a sense of normalcy, as can practicing self-care through exercise, meditation and having access to healthy meals and staying hydrated.
Returning home can also be a daunting prospect for those who don’t know if their home is still there.
What is the impact on kids?
Adults are not the only ones dealing with wildfire impacts, though.
Children can struggle, too.
Diana Martin, senior director of counselling with Kids Help Phone, told Global News that when it comes to talking with children it can be helpful to limit how much information they’re accessing to reduce worry, but to still talk with them how they’re feeling — but do so by asking generally, not specifically.
“If a parent was (to) just ask a little bit more open and, you say, ‘What are you feeling,’ that can open up for a young person to actually say in their own words,” Martin said.
Martin added parents and caregivers can help ease worry by talking with them about what the family’s plan is, what’s going to happen if they need to leave, and stress that they’re together.
She acknowledges children may still have questions that can’t be answered, like if the home is gone, but says there are things that you can still do.
“What I think could be helpful is acknowledging that there’s some things we don’t know yet and because you can’t really make a promise in that situation, that everything’s going to be OK when you get home or that everything will be the same,” she said.
“‘But you know, ‘here’s what we do know, we’re together, here’s what we do know, there’s people that are going to help,’ and focusing on those kinds of things could be helpful.”
As Jasper residents try to process what’s happening, Bierman adds sometimes breaking situations down may help with coping even as so many unknowns remain.
“Events can seem overwhelming when we take them as a whole,” he said.
“I think for people who are experiencing a great loss, often times it’s important to take things as a part than as a whole … don’t try to attack the entire problem at once.”