Nigeria Daily News: Joy Reid: The emotional toll is huge

Joy Reid: The emotional toll is huge
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tvnz on 13/06/2011 08:01:00


Aftershocks are now part of normal life in Christchurch, writes ONE News
reporter Joy Reid.
 
Everyone has a definition of normal. But the chances are, if you're in
Christchurch that definition is VERY different to those around the rest of the
country.
A trauma counsellor told me that our brains re-programme the definition of
normal as a coping mechanism to deal with the stress around us. I've found that
to definitely be the case.
So I thought I'd give you a snapshot of what normal looks like down here.
There's the obvious few. Such as aftershocks which you never get used to, but
are now part of normal life.
Faith in the ground staying put has disappeared, and today's jolts definitely
did not help the situation.
Rubble's not hard to find either, and you don't have to go far to find streets
of wonkey homes propped up with wood. Cordons are as common as letterboxes.
But it's far from just what you see on tv.
The emotional toll is huge. It's normal to see emotion pour out of people and
stress is something we live with now, and this is why.
Uninterrupted sleep is a luxury, as is flushing the toilet (if it's yellow let
it mellow etc) and spare a thought for the tens of thousands of families still
using chemical toilets, or even worse, portaloos in the street.
And after today I can imagine they'll be using them for even longer. How anyone
can get used to that in a first world country is beyond comprehension.
Everywhere you drive, you dodge various holes and humps in the road.
After the quake, the council said there were more than 34,000 road defects, so
no matter how fast the contractors work, it's going to be a long time before
you'll have a smooth ride again. Many roads are still closed meaning detours to
get across town.
And some roads are so badly damaged that everytime a bus or truck goes past is
severely shakes the houses bordering the road, that in itself feels like another
quake.
Workplaces have changed.
For many, like us TVNZers, we're in a new and much smaller building, in a new
part of town, but thousands are still working from home, or even worse... have
suddenly lost their jobs.
Entering a tall building is well, it takes gutts, and taking a lift, takes even
more courage. As soon as you enter a room, you'll find most Cantabrians will
scour it for the safest "shake" spot.
Asking themselves ... if there's a shake is it quicker to dive under that desk??
Or into that doorframe? - And that's a normal thought-process!
I've met people living with HUGE swamps in their backyard. And yes that's since
the quakes. Random springs popped out of the ground and are spilling out up to
9000 litres of water a day into their properties.
That's become normal for them... but only so they don't fall apart everytime
they arrive home.
Then there's the impact on socialising. Only two of the city's malls are open.
Hundreds of restaurants disappeared in the red zone, so finding a table for a
night out can be a real challenge.
The nightlife has moved to the suburbs, so unless you arrive early, the chances
are you'll be lining up in the cold for a while to get into the club.
Many sporting codes have lost their grounds too, so 'Saturday sport' for some
has become 'Sunday Sport'. And getting a team together is far from easy.
But it's not all bad. It's now perfectly normal to talk with strangers in the
street about their quake experiences, or as is the case of late, their EQC
experiences.
Superficial conversations seem to be a thing of the past, friendships have a new
depth.
I guess it's hard for people outside the city to comprehend what our "normal"
life looks like in Christchuch, but it is just that for us.
Normal, and while it'll be years before we're back to pre-quake status, life is
moving forward, and it's only by our brains re-programming normal that many will
survive the stress of the rebuilding years.
Read more Joy Reid opinion                                    here.
Do you agree with Joy Reid? Share your thoughts on the messageboard below.
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