The following information has been provided by the Australian Psychological Society to support families in their responses to bushfires and bushfire risks. This is especially related to children and teenagers who may have heightened anxiety regarding bushfires.
More information can be found at https://www.psychology.org.au/for-the-public/Psychology-topics/Disasters/Bushfires/Preparing-for-bushfires/Preparing-children-for-the-threat-of-bushfires
This information provides ways of assisting parents and carers to help children manage their fears and to have a greater sense of being in control in threatening bushfire situations. It should be read along with information about being physically prepared to protect lives, homes and properties in a bushfire emergency, which is usually available from local councils and emergency services. This information sheet can also be helpful for carers of children who are experiencing anxiety about bushfires or other threats, but may not be directly at risk.
Helping children manage fears
Children react differently to fearful situations depending on their age and personality. Their reactions will also be significantly affected by how the important adults in their lives are responding to a threatening situation. Adults who are able to remain relatively calm and act in a controlled manner in an emergency situation will assist children to feel safe. Being psychologically prepared when a bushfire is threatening can help you feel more confident, more in control and better able to think clearly about what you need to do to keep safe. Being cooler, calmer and more collected will also be very helpful to children.
You can help children by:
- Involving them in physical preparations
- Preparing yourself psychologically so that you feel more in control, and then teaching children the same skills
- Listening to children’s concerns and correcting any thoughts or ideas that are exaggerated or inaccurate
- Remaining positive and reassuring, saying things like “Remember the plan we have and the things we can do to help us all keep safe if a bushfire comes”.
Involving children in physical preparations
Involving children in your household’s physical preparations for a bushfire emergency can help them have a greater sense of control and assist them to manage their fears.
- During a threatening situation, it helps everyone to remain calm if they can be occupied in some useful activity. Select a suitable activity for each child that gives them a feeling of having something to do, and note it in the household plan.
- Talk about the household bushfire plan with all the family, write it up and display it in a place where everyone can see it.
- Practise the plan with the family until everyone knows it really well.
- Talk with children about their school bushfire plan as well.
Being psychologically prepared
Psychological and physical preparation are closely linked and both are important. If all members of the household are psychologically prepared, everyone should be able to think more clearly and act according to the household emergency plan. Once you have learnt how to be psychologically prepared yourself, you can help children to learn the skills too. Children are also better able to cope with stressful events if those around them are also coping well.
A I M for being psychologically prepared in three steps
- ANTICIPATE that the situation will be stressful
- IDENTIFY your body changes related to anxiety and any frightening thoughts that are adding to the fear
- MANAGE your responses using controlled breathing and self-talk
- ANTICIPATE your psychological reactions
When people understand their usual reactions to stress they can learn ways to manage them better when they happen.
- Think about how your children usually react to stress. What other frightening experiences have they had?
- Discuss with them what it might be like in an emergency and how they might react.
- Help them to understand that although these reactions are very understandable, sometimes they can get in the way of thinking clearly and acting in a helpful way in an emergency.
- IDENTIFY feelings and thoughts
In highly stressful situations, the body usually shows signs of anxiety, such as a racing heart, feeling sick or being short of breath. These bodily reactions to stress usually trigger stressful thoughts such as “I can’t cope” or “I’m so afraid”.
- Help children to notice what is happening to their body and the changes that tell them that they are feeling scared.
- Help them to put names on these bodily feelings (“When I get butterflies in my stomach that can sometimes mean I am feeling scared”).
- Show them how to identify unhelpful thoughts they might be having that are adding to their fears (“Something bad is going to happen to us”).
- Remind children that strong bodily sensations and frightening thoughts are normal, but there are ways to manage them so they don’t get out of control and stop us from doing what is helpful.
- MANAGE responses to the stress
Children can learn two simple strategies to help them to feel more in control.
- Teach children to slow down their breathing to help calm anxiety reactions (“Imagine you’re breathing out like a sleepy dog lying in the sun”). When breathing out slowly, teach children to say to themselves
“It’s OK, breathe easy”.
- Teach children to replace frightening thoughts with more helpful ones
(“This might be scary but there are some things that my family can do to help us stay safe”; “We have a plan of what to do and we have practiced the plan, so that should really help”).
When children know what to do in an emergency situation, they will often feel calmer. Make sure your whole household practises both your physical plan and your psychological preparations so you all know what to do and can all feel more in control.
Protecting children during a disaster
Although children can show remarkable resilience, they can also be very vulnerable to trauma in highly stressful situations. The best way to enhance children’s ability to cope is to help them have a sense of safety and security, and to assist them to feel more in control of their fears.
Although children sometimes appear to cope well during an emergency, they may be very distressed much later. Some children are likely to feel more anxious and stressed than others in the face of a bushfire threat. Cuddling, holding and plenty of affection helps to comfort and reassure these children. Talking to them about what is going on and what the adults are doing to make things safe will help to give children a sense of security and closeness.
Older children may react with anger and blame (at parents or others for not keeping them safer), distrust or hopelessness, or may become rebellious or withdrawn. These are common reactions and adults can best deal with them by being patient and understanding while continuing to explain what is happening to keep everyone safe.
Authorities recommend that families leave their properties early on extreme or catastrophic fire danger days. This will not only reduce the risk of physical harm, but will also keep the family together in a less stressful situation and help children to feel safe. If your plan is to stay and defend your property, the authorities strongly advise that children should be sent away from the danger. Removing children from possible exposure to traumatic experiences is the best protection from long-term harmful effects. If you do choose to ‘prepare, stay and defend’ and you send your children away, you can help them deal with any distress at being separated by:
- Making sure they are looked after by familiar adults who they feel safe around
- Planning regular communication with children to let them know you are safe.
Key messages for carers of children who are experiencing anxiety about bushfires, or other threats, but may not be directly at risk
Hot days and the potential risk of bushfires can be a time of increased anxiety for many people. Children are also vulnerable, and the increased media coverage and discussion in the community, schools and at home about the fires can raise their alarm. There are several ways in which parents and carers can help children to be aware of the threats, but also reassure them that they are safe and secure.
- Monitor their media exposure. Limit it, or watch the news with them. Being able to talk about what they are watching or hearing can greatly reduce their distress.
- Listen to understand how children are feeling and thinking. Encourage them to talk, but don’t force them. Help them to recognise and put words to their feelings. Let them know it’s normal to feel this way.
- Provide children with opportunities to express their feelings about bad weather or frightening things.
- Provide truthful but simple and thoughtful explanations. Give your child your full attention when answering their questions. Help them to develop realistic thinking about weather events.
- Reassure children that they are safe and are being looked after, that nothing bad will happen to them personally, and that there many people working to protect others from harm.
Be aware of how you talk in the presence of children. Children can distort what they hear or see especially when information is received through indirect communication, like overheard adult conversations about worrying things.
- Pay attention to your own reactions. Stay calm and show children how you manage your own emotions. This helps to show children that potentially distressing events can be dealt with.
Signs that children are feeling distressed
Children are not always able to express complex feelings in the same direct way that adults do, and therefore might not show the same reactions to stress as adults. It is therefore very important to look out for changes in children’s behaviour that suggest they are unsettled or anxious, such as:
- Changes in their play, drawing, dreams or spontaneous conversations
- Regressive behaviour – children behaving younger than they normally do
- Nightmares
- Anxiety about sleeping alone
- Trouble getting to sleep
- Irritability or anger
- Tantrums, increased defiance
- Fussy eating
- Withdrawing
- Wanting to stay close to a parent, becoming more clingy
- Decreased concentration or attention span
- Feelings of anxiety, fears, and worries about safety of self and others
- Increased aggression, angry outbursts
- Questions about death and dying
- Increased somatic complaints (sore tummy, headaches)
Seeking professional assistance
If you are worried about your child‘s fears or are finding it difficult to cope yourself, then you might find some additional support helpful. In most areas of Australia, psychologists are available to provide a range of assistance for children and adults to help them cope better both before and after a threatening or traumatic situation.
APS psychologists have at least six years of education and training. They are able to provide immediate, short-term stress management strategies and can also provide long-term, ongoing support for more complex stress reactions.
To talk to an APS psychologist, ask your GP for a referral, phone the APS Find a Psychologist service on 1800 333 497, or locate a psychologist in your area by going to the APS Find a Psychologist website – www.findapsychologist.org.au.
Our Local PHN has opened up services for those impacted by current bush fires in our Mid/ North Coast area.
If you’re a Mid North Coast or Northern NSW residents who has been affected by the bushfires, you are being encouraged to access free mental health support via the local Healthy Minds program.
The stress of experiencing something such as a bushfire can leave people at a higher risk of developing depression or anxiety, even if they are not directly dealing with loss of property and/or possessions.
“ At North Coast PHN, we are coordinating a mental health response that includes widening the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Minds program. Persons affected by the local fires can now book in for free face-to-face Healthy Minds counselling services and do not require a referral from their GP to commence supports.”
Julie Sturgess, North Coast PHN
Call Healthy Minds 1300 160 339 between 8.30am – 5pm Monday to Friday.
No referral needed.
Free face-to-face or telephone counselling services with a mental health practitioner, such as a psychologist or mental health social worker, will provide people with strategies and techniques to manage their mental health.
Please note, Healthy Minds is for people experiencing mild to moderate mental health concerns and is not a crisis service. If you require immediate support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. For children under 12 years, call the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. In an emergency, please call 000 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.
Please note that Amy is a registered provider of Healthy Minds services if you wish to access this feel free to request sessions with her via this pathway.