I am on the other side of yet another hurricane experience. A real hurricane and an emotional hurricane. The real one was Irma and if you have seen the news, Irma walloped the state of Florida and packed a punch in other southern states. The event left many of us with an emotional hurricane hangover and it takes days, if not weeks to recover.
If you are wondering if there is something wrong with you because you just can’t “over” this storm, consider your own personal weather history. I was raised in Florida. I have been through many storm and hurricane events. And when I lived on Lookout Mountain I survived an ice storm of epic proportions. I moved to the Jersey Shore for several years and experienced “Superstorm Sandy” which destroyed our town and left many people homeless including friends and relatives.
I moved back to Florida a couple of years ago, road out Hermine last year, just me and my cat. I was fine. But Irma? Geez, the anticipation for over a week- seeing the news with this honker of a storm headed our way… and the dramatic news coverage, constant hair-raising analysis and fear mongering newscasters…
And then a solid week before the storm hit, even in north Florida the grocery shelves were empty and the gas lines began. It was like preparing for Armageddon. The news would report every day or so that our area was either in the clear or the full on target. By the time the storm arrived everyone I know, including me, was exhausted. We were exhausted not from the literal preparations but from the daily emotional assault. Everyday we woke up to, “Just a few more days until the biggest crisis in weather history meets you and yours.”
We are a community mostly with power and businesses that are up and running, yet there is a collective numbness. I am not quite back to speed. I sat yesterday, two full days after Irma left, just staring into space with little motivation. “What is wrong with me?”, I said to myself. And then I reviewed my personal storm history, the newscasts for the past 2 weeks (including the devastation in Texas) and last but not least, the worry for loved ones everywhere – most of my family and friends are in Florida and the south.
Taking all of those factors into account, I understand my apathy and inability to just hop back into my life. But I know, as with any trauma, time will heal and the ability to move forward with confidence will return. So, if you are having a difficult time, cut yourself some slack. this was a major storm with major consequences for many. While I am slow to come back into my own, I am ever grateful for what I have and what I was spared. So many lost so much.
Sending Love & Light- and accepting Love & Light too!
P.S. This is root chakra stuff… so if you have essential oils, put a drop or two of a tree oil on your tailbone- frankincense, cypress, cedarwood. This will help ground you.
