Warning Signs and Risk Factors for Emotional Distress

It is common to feel stress symptoms before or after a crisis. Natural and human-caused disasters can have a devastating impact on people’s lives because they sometimes cause physical injury, damage to property, or the loss of a home or place of employment. Anyone who sees or experiences this can be affected in some way.

Most stress symptoms are temporary and will resolve on their own in a fairly short amount of time. For some people, particularly at-risk populations, these symptoms may last for weeks or even months and may influence their relationships with families and friends.

Symptoms may include:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Anger, feeling edgy or lashing out at others
• Overwhelming sadness
• Pulling away from people and things
• Not connecting with others
• Lack of energy or always feeling tired
• Feeling like you have to keep busy
• Having unexplained aches and pains, such as constant stomach-aches or headaches
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Excessive smoking, drinking, or using drugs, including prescription medications
• Worrying a lot of the time; feeling guilty but not sure why
• Thinking of hurting or killing yourself or someone else
• Having difficulty re-adjusting to home or work life

Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Learn more about coping with traumatic events and disasters.