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I go to Mississipi in less than three weeks. Wow. I am so excited, and so terrified. We had people from the first team showing slides and telling abiut their experience. It's one thing to see the devestation on TV- another to see pictures of people you know in the middle of it. Everyone who spoke teared up, and one big manly guy type outright cried reading an e-mail from a family they helped. These people were so grateful to have their houses finally stripped to the studs. One couple had been seperated from their 4 kids since Katrina. They were upstate with Grandma while mom and Dad worked their full time jobs and them came home and tried to clean up their house.
I am scared of the emotional intensity. Am I ready for this? Or is it maybe one of the reasons I am going?
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I think because I am still dealing with my loss, and I will be going into the middle of this devestating wide scale loss, and it might ( will probably?) rip off some of my scabs.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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May God bless you for your kind and generous heart romany. May you have a safe journey.
Posts: 1132 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Romany, I can understand your fear of the emotional intensity. It's hard being around loss of that scale - really, really hard. If you're the least bit fragile, it'll hurt even worse.
I'm still in tears sometimes when I think about the people I know affected by the tsunami. I was emotionally wrecked for at least a half year. It's not easy being around this stuff. But then, I'm emotionally fragile anyway.
I would suggest that now, before you go, you consider and plan for ways to deal with your emotions when they get too intense. Can you take breaks? Will it help to bring a stuffed animal? What about keeping a journal? What coping mechanisms do you have in place or can you set up to help you deal with this? Do it now, before you go, so you have a head start.
If you want to talk to me off-list, my email addy is in my profile. I'm not sure what I can do to help other than to understand and listen.
quid- I'll take my journal ( great idea) and ask one of the ladies on the trip if she can be my ear if needed. (It was actually her daughter that I called from the midwife's and she who called all the pastors for us.)
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Romany, take care of yourself. Understand, going in, that you could get emotional, and don't berate yourself for it. Understand that it will happen, and when it does, take breaks or whatever you need to do to protect yourself from further harm. Oh, and bring kleenex or hankies, too. Sunglasses, even.
I'm glad you'll have an ear with you. That will help. Good luck.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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