Natural Disasters and Depression Anxiety

Depression and anxiety are the unseen mental after effects of physical natural disasters.

Natural disasters, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamies, earthquakes, cause an increase in the rates of depression anxiety in affected populations.  The mental damage from a natural disaster can remain long after the physical damage has been repaired.

Health care officials in Alberta Canada noticed a significant rise in depression anxiety prescriptions several months after a flood damaged 15,000 homes in the province.  Officials expect that rates of depression anxiety will remain higher than normal for up to 3 years after the natural disaster.  Report.

How Natural Disasters Cause Depression Anxiety

It’s the stress. Any acute or chronic stress can cause depression anxiety.  Chronic work stress, failing relationships, illness, school, or prolonged acute stress from war, a traumatic injury or natural disasters, can all cause depression anxiety.

Learn More: What Causes Depression Anxiety

The acute stress from the natural disaster event, followed by the chronic stress of dealing with the aftermath of the natural disaster, causes physiological changes which lead to depression anxiety.

In brief, the acute and chronic stress associated with natural disasters releases fight or flight hormones to deal with the stressful event, which among other things stops the normal digestive process.  Damage to the gut occurs, allowing undigested food particles and toxins to enter the bloodstream, where they are attacked by the immune system, which in turn releases cytokines which enter the brain, causing inflammation in the brain and depression anxiety.

Learn More:  How Stress Causes Depression Anxiety

Damage to the gut takes time to occur, which is why depression anxiety may not appear right after the natural disaster, and begin to show up months after the natural disaster.

Once the gut is damaged, an individual can remain in depression anxiety for as long as the gut remains damaged, which is why depression anxiety can persist years after the natural disaster occurred.

Learn More:  Gut Brain Connection and Depression Anxiety

The flooding disaster in Alberta Canada occurred in July, and doctors expect that the rising rates of depression anxiety will not crest until after Christmas, 6 months after the flood.

While you cannot control natural disasters, there are things under your control, which can prevent or reverse depression anxiety after a natural disaster.

If it is stress which causes depression anxiety after a natural disaster, then combating stress, is your first line of defense against depression anxiety.  There are both psychological and physical things you can do to prevent depression anxiety after a natural disaster.

A particular cognitive behavioral technique called Mindfulness may be very helpful.  Mindfulness is where you think in the now, eliminate thinking and regretting the past, and not think and worry about the future.  When you catch yourself thinking about the past and what you have lost, stop yourself and focus your thoughts on what is happening now, and do the same when you catch yourself worrying about the future.

Other psychological strategies that help are positive messaging, telling yourself that everything is going to be fine, meditation, prayer, support groups.

There are physical things you can do to prevent depression anxiety after a natural disaster.  Exercise regularly.  Exercise works as well as anti-depressants.  Eat a healthy diet, and avoid using alcohol and drugs to cope with depression anxiety, it will only make your condition worse.  Take vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid supplements, to maintain a strong immune system.

If you have depression anxiety from a natural disaster, your gut may have become damaged from the stress, and you may have to repair your gut before you can recover from depression anxiety.  Fixing your gut involves eliminating foods which cause inflammation and replacing them with foods which promote healing.

Learn more about our natural depression anxiety alternative and how to use diet, exercise, and the best supplements for depression anxiety recovery.

Learn More:
Depression Anxiety Diet
Depression Anxiety Recipes
Depression Anxiety Exercises
Depression Anxiety Supplements

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