It was probably the most obvious news of the year. The front page of The Press with a story that Christchurch residents, according to a Southern Cross Healthcare Group survey, were the most stressed in the country. There were a number of other categories such as the amount of alcohol drunk per region, the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten and the number of residents who smoked. Ironically Christchurch residents were the most satisfied with the amount of sleep they got per night. Even more remarkable considering that the vast majority of Christchurch people would have been awake when this morning's edition of The Press was on the printing presses thanks to a 3:00 am 5.3 wakeup call.
The stress that people are suffering goes way beyond just anxiety over aftershocks. There are the normal things such as job losses, business failures, money worries but there are also the other stresses with the damage and losses of homes, dealing with insurance companies and EQC, the loss of the central city and the worry that there may be more to come. Not to mention the suspicion that the Christchurch rebuild is only going to satisfy politicians and won't reflect anything that residents want to see.
For many people, the stress is so over and above what they would normally experience, that they are displaying symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome. And often it is people who fall into the category of a "strong person". It's as if an earthquake is too far out of their area of control that coping with them becomes difficult. You can't blame anyone for feeling this way because of the terrifying and unpredictable nature of earthquakes are fertile pasture for feelings of fear and anxiety.
Some of the methods of dealing with stress are simple. One of the best ones is breathing. Often during aftershocks that is the first thing that people forget to do and they end up hyperventilating whereas what is required is slow, measured breaths. Other techniques are going through a small routine of checking everything and everyone is all right, listening to soothing music, putting on a favourite item of clothing or accessory or just going to your happy place.
Even though this survey pointed out the bleeding obvious, it also suggests that if this is a regular survey that some of the categories may change, but Christchurch people are going to be the most stressed New Zealanders for a while to come.
