Over the last few months, communities across the N.W.T. continue to face the stress and trauma of evacuation and potential evacuation. Recently, community members from Whati and Fort Providence were ordered to evacuate. Jean Marie River First Nation has seen evacuation notices and alerts issued since June.
With the tremendous challenges posed by wildfires, practicing self care and community care is critical says Anansia Leslie-Bailey and Andrea Patenaude, who are councillors based in Yellowknife specializing in trauma and mental health.
“It’s really important as a community for us, to step up in this moment. Just being welcoming, open arms, because it’s not an easy thing to have to go through this. This happened to us already before to, all of us in the community and, to relive it, can be really, a stressful thing,” said Bailey.
It’s important to recognize that stress can affect your emotions and thought process, and there is no shame in that.
“Just remembering that we’re all humans, it’s okay to have these emotions and to experience them but really finding a way to cope through them and finding those supports, it can make the experience a lot more easy with the transitioning. And even when we are transitioning back home, not to feel pressure, to get right back into the routine and everything be fast-paced.”
While returning home after an evacuation order is lifted can be a joyful moment, it’s ok to take time to adjust to the change.
“Take your time to process, everything, take your time to get back into your routine, take your time to settle in – there’s no rush. You’ve just experienced something that was really intense, which tends to create a lot of traumatic feelings. Make sure that you create that space for yourself and give yourself some grace,” added Bailey.
People experience a loss of control during events like wildfires, which can affect their sense of safety and wellbeing, said Bailey and Patenaude.
“There’s a sudden shock that it can create and loss of control. So what happens is that people often can feel anxious and even feel disoriented and overwhelmed because they have to leave their home on such short notice and even their possessions and that can trigger fear and even have physical stress responses,” said Bailey.
“It can lead to heightening anxiety, trouble sleeping and you can start having difficulty concentrating,” continued Bailey, who explained people can even feel grief and guilt
“We’re concerned about our homes, our communities, our pets, our loved ones and this can bring on a lot of uncertainty. We really get confronted with the fact that we’re not in control,” said Patenaude.
The situation is also complicated by fear and panic due to the environment, things like smoke and the fire, which can trigger panic, said Bailey.
People respond in different ways to the stress and trauma of wildfires.
“Our systems are generally designed to respond to stress but there’s going to be a lot of variation in terms of how individuals respond both in terms of the kinds of symptoms, they might have and the degree to, which they might be resilient to the experience,” said Patenaude.
Community can play a huge role in how people cope.
“It’s very critical to share your experiences with one another, supporting each other. You want to stay connected and that reduces you feeling isolated. Helps you to know that you’re not alone through this process,” explained Bailey.
Connecting with others who are going through the same experience can also help to build resilience, said Bailey.
“Small acts of kindness” can go a long way. Doing things like checking in on friends and neighbours.
“You can walk by and just a simple hello can go a long way right? A simple smile can go a long way asking the person how they’re doing, I think that sometimes we forget as a community those small ways of showing up for each other, it can make or break someone’s day,” explained Bailey.
It’s good to have some structure and practice wellness strategies.
“We want to continue practising deep breathing or any type of coping strategies like grounding techniques that can support you through this intense time.
Connecting with your loved ones, taking part in spiritual and cultural practices is another way to strengthen groundedness and connection.
“You want to find small ways that can create a little bit of calm in the middle of uncertainty,” added Bailey.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the stress and anxiety of the situation can affect relationships.
That can go back to how people cope with those emotions. In times of stress, people can express them in unhealthy ways towards others, said Bailey.
“Especially when emotions are not really desirable. Let’s say, for anger, what happens, overtime is that when people tend to hold all that in, it gets suppressed and then that builds up and then that can manifest over time. So, it’s really important before it gets to that point to release it. To begin to say, hey, I’m feeling really anxious, I’m feeling nervous and having your loved ones connect with you and and support you through that process can really help because you don’t want to end up feeling alone.”
Grounding strategies can help people from being taken over by a “ruminating mind,” said Patenaude.
There are simple strategies that people can do, to help them get through those moments in the short term.Things like going for a walk, and just opening your senses to what is around you. This helps practice “being in the moment.”
“What was one thing I can see right now and just really focus on it. What’s one thing I can hear right now? What’s one thing I can feel against my skin right now. And if you walk longer maybe you go through one of each of these things, then maybe you’ll look at two of each of these things and just helping yourself to stay in the moment can help to take us out of a ruminating mind or big worry. Just finding places where you can bring care to other people as well. We’re all dealing with this at different levels. There’s going to be days where you have capacity to help other people and there’s going to be days when you’re going to be the one needing to lean on others,’ said Patenaude.
Patenaude and Bailey point out that there are going to be times when folks may need to reach out for more support and connecting to needed resources is crucial.
“Maybe your mood is worsening, or the intensity of the difficult emotions are worsening in the weeks after this event, that might be a nice time to reach out. If you’re struggling with substance use or violence or suicidal, ideation. Those are things that you’re going to want to reach out for additional supports,” said Patenaude.
In the GNWT a helpline is available by calling 811, for anyone who is having suicidal thoughts, or ideation,a crisis line is available at 988.
Anyone who would like information about some of the mental health supports accessible in person, over the phone, online in the NWT, can be found on the GNWT’s Mental health resources and supports pages https://www.nthssa.ca/en/services/mental-health-resources-and-supports
