This article offers practical and emotional advice for coping with the loss of sentimental belongings after a disaster. It emphasizes the importance of self-care, preserving memories through documentation and technology, seeking support from others, and embracing the opportunity for restoration and a new chapter in life.
Losing important sentimental belongings — those items that represented who you are — can be traumatic for those who go through disasters that destroy homes. Some tips on how to get through it, emotionally and practically: Grief can be hard on the body, says Mary-Frances O’Connor, a psychology professor at the University of Arizona and author of “The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing.
Recovering from loss requires “understanding the impact that it’s having,” says O’Connor. Have patience, she says.“You’ve got to write down the stories. Document the stories,” says Matt Paxton, a decluttering expert and author of “Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff.” Disasters and trauma often affect whole families, communities, “even a whole state and country,” says O’Connor. So it helps to remember “that our shared response builds meaning and memorializes, and it’s often by turning to others that we find the strength to go on.”Disaster and recovery will create new precious memories, and new photo albums full of photos. “Choose to keep living and creating new memories and recording old memories,” says Paxton.
Disaster Relief Personal Growth Grief Loss Disaster Recovery Memory Preservation Emotional Healing
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