This past Friday morning, I came home from the gym to find a tree collapsed onto my apartment. Along with the other stressors that college, work, family, and friends have been putting on me, my apartment has been condemned. Luckily no one was hurt, but my roommates and I lost our home. My roommate Shannon (who is also in this class) were freaking out not knowing how to handle a situation like this. After calling the fire department, they declared the house unsafe to live in so we had to move out, and fast. Originally, the fire department was going to give us 15 minutes to get everything we owned out of the apartment, but we convinced them to give us an hour. Needless to say this was one of the most chaotic and stressful weekends of my life.
“Natural disasters are among the most stressful events people can experience. The immediate event is traumatic and is followed by months of trying to get life back to ‘normal'”
Donatelle, 2019, page 51
The quote above followed my introduction well because it was a traumatic natural disaster that my roommates and I went through this weekend. Obviously things could have been a lot worse and there are other disasters that are far more traumatizing and life threatening, but if there is one thing I have learned over the years it is that even though someone else might have it worse than you, that doesn’t mean that you’re not struggling. I try to work this into my daily life because I often find myself invalidating what I am going through because it “could be worse” and that is not a healthy way of thinking. To apply the General Adaptation Syndrome to my experience this weekend I would say that I was in the Alarm stage for a while. The first thing I did when it all happened was to get our two dogs to a safe place. I think this must have been my fight or flight response telling me to get the heck out of there, especially because my fur babies were in potential danger. I can remember my adrenaline pumping for quite a while after the event. Part of me thinks that I still might partially be in the alarm stage because none of it honestly feels real. A tree falling on my house is not a prolonged event that lasts a while, so it is hard to say if the resistance and exhaustion phase will even happen, nonetheless it was a traumatic event that caused my life to be uprooted (pun intended).
While reading the section about the importance of sleep, I took some time to reflect my sleeping patterns lately and honestly, they’re not great. I have been falling asleep later and later every day, partially due to school work and partially due to stress. I will often find myself laying in bed stressing over all of the things I am going to have to do in the upcoming days. I understand that getting the correct amount of sleep can help you in a number of ways such as maintaining your immune system, contribute to a healthy metabolism and improve mental function. I also understand that a lack of sleep (like the amount that I am getting most nights) may increase my risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. I try to remind myself to use mindfulness and meditation as a way of relaxing my brain and body at night, but I am guilty of not always utilizing these healthy methods of getting to sleep. On page 57, Donatelle(2019) explains a number of ways to make sure that you get a good night sleep and I am embarrassed to say that I am currently writing this blog while in bed. I know… it makes it harder to fall asleep if you do other things in your bed other than sleep. But since I had to move out of my apartment, I am now temporarily living at my mothers and the only place that is quiet is the bedroom I am staying in.
I have not been doing great with my health aspect since this weekend because I have been so stressed out and overwhelmed with the whole situation. I know that sticking as close to my normal routine and getting the the gym regularly as well as eating healthy will help me feel better, but my cortisol levels are probably through the roof right now (like that tree branch). And if If I work harder on staying on track with my exercise, I know now that it can “‘burn[s] off’ stress hormones by directing them toward their intended metabolic function and can combat stress by raising levels of endorphins” (Donatelle, 2019, pg. 63). I have made a plan to go to the gym tomorrow seeing as I have taken 4 days off from exercise, because I need to get back into a routine of being healthy and focusing on the positive. I am excited to start back on my health journey and work through my stress in a healthy way.
Knock on wood so this doesn’t happen again
oak-ay sorry for all the tree jokes!
I just wanted to end this blog by saying I am so thankful that no one was hurt by this tree. It is very sad to lose our home, but I am just glad someone was watching over us making sure we were all safe. My mental health definitely got pretty bad for a few days, but by trying to see the good in it all, I am managing to slowly get myself back to my routine (with some adjustments).
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