Friday, March 25, 2011

Post Traumatic Stress??

I've been intending to write posts from the three days preceding the earthquake and back date them so they'd show up for the date we explored that part of Tokyo.  So, my post about Tokyo Disney would be dated Wednesday, March 9, the date we were actually there.  I've tried to get these posts written, but it's been hard to write about what happened before the earthquake after the fact.  Things have changed so much in Japan since we were there, it seems almost pointless to share my tips/insights about the places we visited.  Some of the places, like Tokyo Disney were damaged fairly badly and aren't even open.  And while Price doesn't remember (or talk about) the eq, but he does remember and talk frequently about Disney.  I shouldn't ignore our fun time there, and should document our good times.

I can't stop thinking about Japan.  Not even subconsciously.  I've had at least one dream about Japan and/or the eq every night for the past week.  They aren't nightmares or even scary, the last one I had I was admiring the beauty of the country.

A social worker friend of mine asked me shortly after I got home if I was having any post traumatic stress issues.  I told her that I definitely was while we still in Japan thanks mostly to the aftershocks and the nuclear problems, but that every day I was back in Guam and in my routine and with no shaking of the ground I was doing better.  And I feel fine, it's just the dreams.  Even though they're not scary, they are like a constant reminder of what we went through, and what we went through wasn't really all that bad.  It was big and it was scary and it caused a little discomfort, but we got out of it with an exciting travel adventure.

So, I am committing to write about the fun we had the few days before and even most of the day of the earthquake.  Check back for "earlier" posts, just know they are being written now, in a post eq state of mind.


PS- I don't think this charity has been screened by Charity Navigator (where you can find a list of other great charities that are helping with relief efforts in Japan), but tomorrow P and I are heading to the BX to send socks to Japan.  We could just write a check to the Red Cross, but I like how they are asking donors to include letters with the socks, and I want to tell the people who receive socks from us how much we enjoyed visiting their country even in the midst of such a tragic event.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Prayers for you and your family as you continue to decompress from the events in Japan. I emailed you about Guam right after it happened and didn't even realize what you had just gone through. You were so sweet to write back though, thank you. Best wishes for you all!

- Jen Wright

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