Long Term Impacts of Stressors

Personal Story

The first part of this assignment has actually been a struggle for me as I have been very lucky in my life experience.  I have certainly known people who were affected by the death of a sibling or violence in their home, but I have not known them well enough to comfortably share much about their experience.

I have chosen to write briefly about my roommate from college who lived in a home where there was abuse.  Although she never provided specifics, I believe she and her siblings were victims of both physical and sexual violence.  I believe she escaped this situation by leaving home to go to school.

During our freshman year she struggled emotionally, drinking a lot and developing friendships that supported her self destructive behavior.  She eventually tried to hurt herself and spent time in a residential hospital.  When she returned to our campus she continued to work with therapists to over come the events in her past that made it so hard for her to treat herself with the kindness and respect she deserved.

Because she did not have an opportunity to seek the help she needed when she was young she compensated by hurting herself further with self destructive behavior.  Once she was a young adult she was able to work with professionals who could support her and help her respond in more appropriate ways so she could become more emotionally healthy.

Tsunami in Japan

On March 11, 2011, Japan faced a 3 tiered disaster that will have long term affects on the children who were victims of a double natural disaster first a level 9.0 earthquake which caused a massive tsunami,   and a man made disaster, the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex.   Children lost their homes,  communities, family members, and safe water to drink.  Immediately following the disaster young children were showing signs of stress.  Many were not sleeping, having nightmares and were shutting down emotionally. An estimated 40% of affected children have shown signs of Post traumatic stress disorder.  

In Japan there is a stigma attached to mental health and a cultural desire to be resilient.  There is little differentiation between mental well being and mental illness.  "The worry for many psychologists and mental health experts is that many survivors could be going through serious emotional distress in silence without seeking any help" (Kumar, 2012).  Just after the disasters, many outside organizations came from across the world to help with disaster relief including mental health issues.  The problem is that as time passes these outside organizations have left Japan and the tsunami survivors risk being forgotten in the shadow of structural and economic recovery... getting on with business as usual. "The core priorities of recovery have been set around economic revival and benefits. Missing, however, from the equation is any discussion to comprehensively address the emotional and psychological needs of survivors"(Kumar, 2012). Many of the people, especially children, may never get the help they need to move forward emotionally and the effects may be long lasting.

Reference:

Kumar, D (2012, March11). Japan's recovery will be a test of mind. Aljazeera. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/03/2012311123334901314.html