Whether it’s the raging wildfires forcing thousands to evacuate their homes in western and northern Canada, or deadly floods striking the east coast, those caught up in natural disasters face more than immediate physical challenges: They also bear emotional and psychological trauma that can last well beyond the events themselves, mental health experts warn.
But people can take steps to manage the effects and protect their mental health.
“During a natural disaster, we see an initial immediate concern for physical safety, which is incredibly important,” said Julia Payson, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Vernon, B.C. branch.
“What often comes later — or even concurrently, but is put aside — is the mental health impact of these disasters, whether it’s the direct impact of being under an evacuation order or being in the vicinity of these alerts and fires.”
Those impacts can persist for years, she added.
Payson, who lives in Vernon, said the ongoing wildfires in the province have led many people to feel a rollercoaster of emotions including anxiety, fear, sadness, numbness and anger, which she describes as typical responses amid such destruction.
“The range of emotions that you feel when there are fires nearby is intense… You alternate between wanting to know what is happening and wanting to just tune out a lot of the news,” Payson said.
“We’ve watched some of these fires move really quickly. You feel relief when a fire stops moving towards you, but you know that often it’s because it’s moving somewhere else. So then you’re dealing with the guilt of that.”
As climate change continues to make wildfires, flooding and heat waves more frequent and severe, Health Canada has warned of increased risks to the mental health and well-being of many people in the country. Those reactions can include feelings of hopelessness, a lack of community and even heightened suicide ideation or attempts.
Mental health symptoms to watch for
Dr. Jude Mary Cénat, professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, said that after a natural disaster, many people will experience unwanted upsetting memories, as well as flashbacks, nightmares and emotional distress.
“Some will try and avoid those feelings, thoughts, events and places that remind them of the natural disaster,” he said.
Substance abuse can also be a symptom, said Nicole Sadler, a clinical psychologist based in Australia, who has studied the mental effects of natural disasters.
She said the mental health fallout from a disaster, such as wildfire, can be short-term, lasting a few days or weeks. For some, the effects may last for months, or even years.
“They might have trouble sleeping, they might feel very agitated. They might feel that it’s difficult to really feel like there’s a sense of safety and security in their life,” Sadler said.
“And of course, that comes from not just the impact of the disaster itself, but perhaps their communities being impacted, their job, their livelihood.”
There’s also been a link between natural disasters and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she said, clarifying that this is observed only ain minority of people.
Many studies have shown there are increased levels of post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety after disasters, such as wildfires.
For example, a 2019 study out of the University of Alberta found that 18 months after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires, many students in Grades 7 through 12 remained traumatized. More than one in three students were suffering from PTSD, 31 per cent cited depression and 15 per cent said they had probable alcohol or substance use disorders.
Sadler cited another study that looked at the impact of the destructive bushfires in New South Wales during 2019-20 on children. The study revealed that in communities significantly impacted by wildfires, children’s school grades suffered while instances of financial strain and domestic violence within households were reported.
How to protect your mental health
Cénat said letting people know that their feelings following a natural disaster are normal is a cornerstone of restoring their mental health.
“It is normal to feel psychological distress because you lost your home, you lost your environment. Your children cannot be in that same school they were in for the last two years,” he said. “Normalize the symptoms and then help people know what they can do to overcome to heal from the symptoms.”
Maintaining social connections and reaching out for help is another important step, Sadler said.
“One of the best indicators of recovery from something big like a natural disaster is the quality of someone’s social connections… doing those things that get back a sense of routine, a sense of not being overwhelmed,” she said.
This includes engaging in activities like getting back into a social routine, getting your children back in school, or going to church.
She said it’s also important to provide “self-care,” such as taking a mental break from the stress of what is happening around the world.
“And doing all those basic things that we know look after your mental health and well-being, trying to get enough sleep, making sure that you’re eating as properly as you can, trying to get a little bit of exercise, and talking to other people about what’s happened for you, talking to people that you trust, people that you feel safe with,” she stressed.
Regardless of what we are exposed to, she said humans are “resilient” and there is always hope for recovery.
“For most of us, we won’t need formal support to do that, we won’t need formal counselling. We can do this in the context of our communities, of our own coping support and banding together and supporting each other,” Sadler said.
But if you are worried about yourself or someone else, there are services people can use for mental health support.
In Canada, for example, the Red Cross offers a list of services. For immediate assistance anywhere in Canada, call Talk Suicide Canada to connect to a crisis responder at 1-833-456-4566.
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