As thousands of Oregonians pick up the pieces in the aftermath of recent ice storms, mental health professionals warn there’s another threat looming: toxic stress.
Most humans are incredibly resilient. It’s a trait that keeps us going—clearing fallen trees, checking on homebound neighbors, generating heat.
But crisis counselors find it’s often after an emergency that acute stress can boil over, with symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, dread or disrupted sleep patterns.
After repeated stressful events, there comes a point at which fear and trauma compound, said Nasim May with Eugene's Center for Community Counseling, which provides mental health therapy services to the uninsured.
“With the pandemic, with our recent wildfires, with this ice storm– what happens if we don’t start to address some of the stresses now, we’re continuing to fill that camel’s back with additional straw until that one piece breaks it,” said May.
For anyone feeling emotionally overwhelmed right now, May said there are regional crisis counseling services available, as well as the 24/7 Disaster Distress Helpline:1-800-985-5990.
Additional crisis counseling services in Lane County include White Bird (crisis line at 541-687-4000), Hourglass Community Crisis Center,The Benton County Crisis Center and Linn County Crisis Services.
The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
Call or text 1-800-985-5990.
Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona “2.”
For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: To connect directly to an agent in American Sign Language, click the "ASL Now" button below or call 1-800-985-5990 from your videophone. ASL Support is available 24/7. FAQs for ASL NOW users.
