Normal To Feel Distress During Spring Storms

Thursday’s possible severe weather may be causing you more apprehension than normal.

Tennessee Tech Licensed Professional Counselor Shonta Kyees said it is common for such a reaction in the aftermath of last year’s tornado. Kyees said fears vary on exactly why a storm causes distress, but we should focus on what we can and cannot control.

“We can’t control when and where a storm may hit,” Kyees said. “But we can figure out how we would like to respond to our loved ones and we can figure out how we’d like to practice situational awareness and things like that.”

Kyees said that maintaining physical health and keeping your daily routines during storms are important on days that can bring back past trauma. Kyees also recommended connecting and verbalizing feelings to your support system will show how normal these emotions can be.

“Practicing compassion, I’m huge on practicing compassion with yourself and with others. We’ve been through such a difficult time,” Kyees said. “We have got to be gentle with ourselves and with other people. If those things aren’t really helping and you see that you’re impacted, your feelings and your emotions and things like that are being impacted, your relationships or your work then don’t be afraid to seek out additional mental health help.”

Kyees said that experiencing physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive responses on stormy days and anniversaries are normal. She said connecting with people with shared experiences can show how normal your feelings are.

“It is absolutely important to be able to talk to other people, so you don’t necessarily go into this phase of, ‘oh man, I’m crazy, it’s just me,” Kyees said. “Although we are gaining more awareness of mental health, there is still a bit of a stigma associated with it. I think the only way that we can break that stigma is to be able to talk about what’s happening with us.”

Kyees said counseling is not about giving someone advice, but showing them the best ways to work through the emotions they’re feeling. She said someone does not need to be directly impacted by the March tornado to experience these emotions. They can commonly be caused by a fear for loved ones, simply seeing storm damage and being a first responder.