Is the smell of smoke and the fire seemingly on the horizon taking you back to 2003? Or is it just enough to disrupt your exercise so you're feeling a little out of sorts?
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The message from psychologists to Canberrans is that these feelings are normal and you will bounce back.
Grand Pacific Health senior mental health clinician and psychologist Jacqui Keogh said it was important for those people who were relating the current situation back to 2003 to remind themselves that these are very separate events.
She said there are many people feeling worried or anxious in the community at this time, particularly as the city marked the anniversary of the devastating 2003 firestorm on Saturday.
"I see that in people around me, that there's a higher vigilance and awareness of what's going on, checking the news all the time, wanting to see where the fires are at," Mrs Keogh said.
"That's normal that heightened anxiety, even if you're not right in the vicinity."
"The smoke is a very strong reminder of what's going on not far away from here."
With time and support, most of us can bounce back from difficult or traumatic experiences.
- Australian Psychological Society president Ros Knight
Mrs Keogh said the smoke and fire events in the surrounding region could be triggers for people who experienced the 2003 fires in Canberra.
"It's important not to let all of those memories blur together and to try and keep in their mind that these are very separate things, just reminding themselves of that."
"You can do everything to get your house safe and all those things help people to feel safe, but once that's done it's important not to feed into that 'what if'."
Australian Psychological Society president Ros Knight said the impact of disasters can last a long time and lay dormant for months or years.
"Humans are resilient," Ms Knight said.
"With time and support, most of us can bounce back from difficult or traumatic experiences. However, we're all different and there is no prescribed way to respond to traumatic experiences."
Mrs Keogh said staying connected to friends and family was important for people feeling the impact of the smoke or fires.
"It's really important for people to look after themselves, to try to make some room to do nice, pleasurable things and taking that time to do what they like. Trying to keep a routine, keeping busy. Keeping some semblance of normality is important."
Kimberley Le Lievre
Passionate about sharing people's stories. Email me at kimberley.lelievre@canberratimes.com.au
Passionate about sharing people's stories. Email me at kimberley.lelievre@canberratimes.com.au
