CHHHANGES...

I know I usually write about health and weight issues, but this month I need to address what is happening in our area right now, as it affects our mental health.

Recently the fires up in Lake County have been so close to home, literally, and for many of us this feels incredibly unsettling, whether we know someone affected or not. On Facebook, TV and through friends we see and hear about the devastation, and there is nothing quite as terrifying as watching entire towns, cherished retreats and swathes of forests swallowed up in flames; especially when it is in our own backyard.

I imagine some of you may have been in natural disasters, and you remember the confusion, the panic and the sense of loss it brings. Everything in your lives changes in a matter of seconds or hours. No one is prepared for this. If you lose a home you lose your sense of self, in a way. Where we live defines us. And even if your house remains, destruction of a community means all your relationships scatter to safe havens. Between the loss of friends and the charred or broken landscape, you lose why you moved to this area in the first place.

There's the figuring out "what's next" after the disaster's effects are fully assessed which follows: Months of confusion and anxiety as one figures out the next life plan. Staying on friend's couches, replacing lost possessions piece by piece, and finding yourself and your place in the world again takes time and an ability to move past the event and push forward.