After the terrible consequences of the DANA in the Valencian Community, the mental health of those who were directly affected by the disaster and those who are in areas with active alerts is under pressure. Spaniards have not hesitated to lend their help and psychology professionals are doing the same by disseminating some keys to cope with this difficult situation. Ibizan psychologist Elizabeth Clapés has made some publications in her networks in this regard (in her Instagram @esmipsicologa accumulates more than one million followers). Clapés, among other achievements, has four published books, the most recent Tú no eres el problema ( 2024, Montena publishing house). The professional emphasizes that it is “normal to feel a lot of fear when listening to rain”. It is also normal to“have a lot of anxiety and check the news 100 times, feel a lot of pain and anger, sleep badly”, but, at the same time, it is normal to “need to talk, read or listen about subjects other than what is happening”. Finally, she says, “If you’ve already done your bit and you need to step away to take care of yourself, that’s fine. You’re not a bad person for it. This is beyond all of us.”
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How to take care of mental health in the midst of a disaster such as the DANA
On the other hand,psychologist Montse Cazcarra (more than 200,000 followers on her Instagram @montsecazcarra psicología), author of the book Amor sano, amor del bueno, also offers some keys to take care of mental health in such a particular situation. “The situation must be terribly overwhelming for you. Focus on what is in your hands while making sense of that emotion and adopting a compassionate attitude towards yourself: it is more than expected that you feel this way,” she says. Furthermore, he clarifies: “There is so much to do (…) that you may have the feeling that you are not doing enough. That’s not true: the little you do is already a lot“.
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