**The pages on this website will discuss emotional trauma recovery for Los Angeles wildfire survivors, and not financial or asset recovery. It's unfortunate to have disclaimers during this very difficult time, but it's important to note that this website is not a replacement for licensed mental health, medical, legal or other qualified professional care.

​

January 9th, 2025

 

Where to begin? It was a hurricane force firestorm beyond what we could have imagined in our worst nightmares. Career firefighters reported never having seen anything like it.

 

A natural disaster at this magnitude makes it difficult for any of us to think straight. It feels impossible to imagine how people are coping with the enormity of this community recovery. That is the nameless part of our shock: it's no longer business as usual. We've all been effected. Yet somehow things move forward and the world, and some parts of the city, will go on with business as usual while you are faced with this life altering change. Depending on what psychological stage of recovery you are at, that may not be an issue-- for now, you may be too frozen, numb or catatonic to even consider what's next.

 

Take a slow breath.

 

It's important to not take on all of it. You can take on manageable pieces but you cannot take on the whole problem. It's a difficult task when you are worried or overwhelmed, but try not to take on all of it in your thoughts. If you are obsessing and ruminating on the total scale of the situation, you may be in a stress response. Take on realistic tasks and take them on piece-by-piece, only focusing on one simple task at a time.

 

The community, you and your neighbors will have to rely on resources you may have only heard of on the news: FEMA, The Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Insurance Companies, The National Guard and other organizations that have experience with community-based disaster recovery. You will have to rely on family, friends and help from strangers. You didn't ask for this; even if you planned, you couldn't have fully planned for this magnitude and you are not alone. You may feel helpless or out of control, but this is an extreme situation and adapting moment-by-moment is what will get you through. The individual nervous system isn't designed for complex, intellectual processing in the face of enormous shock, immediate danger and survival. It's time to survive right now. Get back to basics. It's okay to not be okay and simply take it one day at a time, even one minute at a time.

 

First off, if you ran for your life in hurricane force wind, fire and smoke, have lost your home, lost your livelihood, lost a loved one, or lost everything on this list and more, I am the first to say that there are no words in this moment that can honor what you're going through. There are no words that can help you fully process this right now. There are no words of pat reassurance that will change what you have confronted. This is a life-altering experience. My most heartfelt warmth is going out to you-- I hope that at least a sentence, or a link on this site will be of some assistance to you. Despite knowing the grave scene you have confronted, I write this with absolute hope and faith for you based on my years of experience in trauma recovery.

 

As a witness to trauma recovery for decades, people have shown me how resilient they are. You may have a feeling that this crisis is redefining you. People casually say things like: "It's unreal." "I'm in shock." "This is surreal." "I've only seen this sort of thing in a movie." These are intellectual statements trying to explain sensations of frozen emotional terror and horror; a natural trauma reaction as your brain, body and nervous system begin to mobilize on recovering from what you went through and starting your new way of life.

 

You are changed. Your body knows this change right now, long before your intellectual brain is fully healed and living a triumphant post-traumatic growth story. A triumphant post-traumatic growth story might feel like a far-off, impossible fantasy right now, especially if you're someone who has lost everything except your precious life. However, focusing on defining your experience on your terms is a vital step in your healing journey. Recognizing that you can heal someday is the first step in digesting the profound before-and-after experience you are confronting.

 

Right now, it's okay to not be okay. All you need to do is determine your next right action... Do I have food, water, shelter? Should I ask for help from family, friends and strangers? Can I allow others to help me? Should I call insurance? Should I file with FEMA or other sources to receive assistance? Where will I live as I recover? Check with the resources on this site and follow instructions from people with experience-- do this until you can get your wits about you and your whole-brain-processing back online.

​

This is my first page to address the trauma recovery process. Moving forward, this site will have quick tips, Youtube videos, stress reduction tips, trauma tools, and more writing that I hope will provide you an invisible hand reaching out. It's unfortunate that I need any qualifiers, but all sorts of people are out there struggling-- pleeeease, please, please seek out crisis care if you are so overwhelmed that you are unsafe. 211 and SAMSHA in the links above can provide emotional support resources. The red phone number buttons at the top of the page dial right through-- call them if you need disaster crisis support!​