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Resilience to emergencies and other unexpected events is increasingly important. But what is resilience? And what does this look like for Victorians? How can community members support each other?
On Road to Resilience, we answer these questions and more.
Feelings of fear and anxiety are totally normal after an emergency, however it’s important to seek help if they are impacting your life.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or concerned about your mental health, or that of someone close to you, don’t hesitate to reach out - talk to:
👫 family, friends or neighbours
🩺 your doctor
📞 Lifeline on 131114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
To find out more, visit www.dffh.vic.gov.au/recovery
Sophie Gunther Vale: The Victorian government acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of the lands we've recorded on today. When we speak about coping with natural disasters, land management and resilience, there is no greater example than that set by the world's oldest living culture. This is Road to Resilience, the podcast where we unpack the journey to recovery after emergencies and disasters.
I'm Sophie Gunther-Vale and I'm your host for this episode. Media, emergencies and mental health. This episode is for everyone, particularly adult members of the community or anyone with a smartphone. Today, we're talking about how media coverage of emergencies can affect our mental wellbeing, what the impact can look like, and some practical steps to support ourselves, our loved ones and our communities through difficult events.
I'd like to let listeners know that today's conversation touches on emergencies and their impacts, which some people may find challenging. We won't go into any graphic details, but if at any point you need to step away, take a break, or come back to this episode at another time, please do what feels right for you. We'll be posting some helpful resources in the show notes, but if you need immediate help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyondblue on 1300 224 636. In an emergency, call 000.
So let's get to our guests. Today we're privileged to be speaking with three people with unique perspectives on this subject. Anne Leadbeater is a specialist in disaster recovery and community resilience. With 30 years’ experience in the community sector and across government. Anne develops policy and designs training for recovery practitioners nationally. David Younger is a clinical psychologist and national disaster consultant who has supported disaster affected communities since 2009. David is interested in strength based and compassion focused approaches that help healing and recovery. And finally, Therese Fitzgerald is Victoria's Deputy Emergency Management Commissioner. She has more than 30 years of experience in policing and emergency management, including responding to bushfires and other emergencies. Anne, David and Therese, thank you for joining us today for this important discussion.
For the purposes of our discussion today, we're going to talk about emergencies and unexpected events. So we're really covering the full scope of those things that get heavily covered in the media that can throw us off course. We're living in a time where emergency information is constantly available – on our phones, our TVs and our social media feeds. That can be incredibly helpful, but it can also feel relentless.
This episode outlines the strategies we can take to get the information we need, remain connected with our community and safeguard our path to recovery.
Therese, how does emergency coverage work in Victoria?
Therese Fitzgerald: We have an entire media team. We're very conscious of getting messages out to the community immediately. Obviously, through our official channel, which is the Vic emergency app, but we hold a media conferences, we do consistent radio updates and grabs from our media officer for the day. So we realise the importance of getting contemporary information out to the public and the community when we're in the middle of an incident and it needs to be quick and allow people to react in the appropriate time. So it's something that's a really important aspect of us managing an emergency.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Thank you, Therese. Anne, I might ask you this question. What stands out to you about the volume and the pace of coverage during recent emergencies?
Anne Leadbeater: Well, and this has changed significantly over the years, the last decade or so. When we think about, it used to be that emergency services would announce a press conference and they would have a spokesperson, and that person would release the information that was available. Now we've got this much more, rapid cycle of information. And so, things change very quickly. Information becomes current and then not current very quickly. And so it can be a really confusing space for people to try and navigate. And as you mentioned before, we have got more sources of information than we've ever had at any point in the past. So, that all makes for a really, rapid dissemination and the need to try and be across multiple, sources of information and also a discerning consumer of that information and what's trustworthy, what's appropriate to my situation, what's relevant for me in my community or in my, in my circumstances. So, it is it is a very crowded and very and fast-moving space.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Wonderful, thanks Anne. And I know we're going to touch a bit more on some of the points that you've raised. David, I've asked... I might ask you this question. How does constant exposure affect the way people can experience an emergency, even if they're not physically present?
David Younger: Yeah yeah, well it's such a great question. I think it's really important to mention as a lead into answering that media, whether it's TV, radio, digital, fundamentally establishes a connection with people and between people and information gets spread in that way. And because of that, there can be both risks and benefits. But if we talk about constant or repeated exposure, you know, one of the great concerns there is that – I'm just going to take a step back – if we're talking about repeated or constant exposure from mental health and wellbeing perspective, or one of the things that we need to be aware of is that our brains and nervous systems can be susceptible to repetitive, repetitive exposure over a prolonged period of time. And so it becomes really important to be aware of that.
Psychologically, some of the risks that we get concerned about ultimately are compromised mental health and compromised wellbeing, which can show up in all sorts of different ways – feelings of heightened stress, anxiety, despair, overactive thinking, even... and this depends to a certain extent on the type of media that people are exposed to or are exposing themselves to, intrusive, repetitive images, for example. And I was just going to mention one thing here, which is, the learning that came out of, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, where researchers found something that called a dose relationship, which was a relationship between exposure to, you know, graphic imagery and high levels of stress and anxiety. So the higher the dose, the greater the chance of experiencing that sort of side effect.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: While media can feel overwhelming, it's also one of our most important tools during emergencies, especially when it's accurate and trusted. Therese, can I ask you to explain why access to clear, credible information is so important during emergencies? And what role do trusted platforms like Vic Emergency play alongside other news and emergency broadcasting?
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, we'd like the community to consider or know that Vic Emergency is the single source of truth. It is complemented by additional platforms, so whether that be radio, whether that be traditional stand-up television, print media is a bit slower these days. We are very conscious that people engage in social media and get their news rapidly from that as well. So that's something we also plug into from our channels. But Vic Emergency should be seen as the single source of truth.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: David, can I ask you, how can good information support people’s sense of safety and wellbeing?
David Younger: Yeah. Well, this really goes to the heart of, who we are as humans. And that is we we're social and emotional mammals. And nowadays, it's really well understood that, for example, being able to feel safe and in control is absolutely crucial to our mental health and wellbeing. So this means that in the context of an emergency, something that might cause us to feel quite unsafe or out of control, amongst other things, is not knowing what's happening.
So, for example, not having access to information. So when we spend time with communities, you know, my role as a disaster consultant, whether that's before or afterwards, you know, one of the key points we often make at times is that information is a really important, crucial, concrete tool and strategy that we can use. So what this really means from the perspective of good information, and I'd probably say information that is factual and timely, is that it can reduce uncertainty, which in turn can support decision making, which is absolutely fundamental amidst an emergency, which in turn can help people establish in community a sense of control, which then flows into wellbeing and mental health.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: David, I do have a follow up question for you in your professional or clinical experience, what are some strategies for consuming media during emergencies that someone could take to protect their mental health, especially taking into consideration the use of social media and connectedness?
David Younger: Yeah, absolutely. Well, if I just talk to mental health generally first, we need to start off by making the decision to protect our mental health. That's a really important starting point. And then secondly, to set boundaries regarding how much media you're exposed to, going back to that dose relationship comment that I made before. And then following on from that is a a bit of a bit of a guideline, but within reason, you know, people could think about, one to two or maybe three doses of exposure per day, 15, 20 minutes per occasion, but absolutely not the constantly attached to a device, and the doomscrolling is that, you know, that term that gets used quite frequently. Factual sources of information, as has already been mentioned, is really important, emergency service organisations and public broadcasters. And I would also suggest to people that they think about the media channels they're going to access, whether that's going to be the radio, whether it be the internet, perhaps a combination of two, you know, to television, for example, and moving imagery, which is definitely of concern and just connecting with a point that Anne made at the beginning of this conversation, you know, the average person these days can, whether they're having a first or second hand experience, upload footage of an emergency to a platform like YouTube, and then anybody can watch it. When it comes to protecting the mental health of children, I think it's really important for people to realise that the younger the child, then, the less exposure they should have. For very young children, consider the option of no exposure. And also make sure that there's a really good, sustained, enjoyable, opportunity, I should say, for enjoyable activities, stay away from TV and devices, that sort of thing. And particularly in the lead up to going to bed in the evenings, you know, so there's an opportunity to, to wind down and relax.
Therese Fitzgerald: We work really closely with the… there's over 50 emergency broadcasters. We build those relationships across the course of a year so that when we are in an emergency, we're not having to pick up the phone to unknown people. And we facilitate media opportunities for them as a result. And all of our, emergency broadcasters will interrupt their current broadcast if there's an emergency warning to go out. We really appreciate the assistance that we do get from broadcasters in that space. So it is an essential part of our relationship with them to, to keep giving them the information that we want them to get out.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: I think that does come back to a point I think we were talking about earlier, is that local information. So that's where your emergency broadcasters in your local area, that relationship is so important. So because you're getting the information from the emergency services but localised to where you are.
Therese Fitzgerald: That's right.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah. Just helps you get the information you need for that region at that point in time.
Therese Fitzgerald: I think people trust their local broadcasters as well, because they know that it is bespoke for them. Not just somebody sitting in an office in Melbourne. Those local aspects are really important. And that flows with how we manage an incident as well. We take what is happening on the ground locally. There are not decisions made in at the State Control Centre, for example, that are not done, without liaising with those at the local point. So media is just the same.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Absolutely. Anne?
Anne Leadbeater: And those, those trusted local relationships are also a good way of, of sort of curating the information that you're exposing yourself to, because instead of having to listen to disasters that are unfolding right around the state, for example, you can be connected to your local broadcaster and accessing information that is locally relevant and important to your situation.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Absolutely. And that comes back to the strategy that David mentioned. You might be really consciously choosing to dial into your local media coverage so that you're not overexposing yourself to information that's not necessarily relevant to your situation. That could then cause a certain type of response that may or may not be desired.
Anne Leadbeater: So when looking for information through social media for the Longwood fires in Victoria in January 2026, I was finding that I was getting posts that were relevant to the information I was seeking, interspersed with other events happening internationally that were traumatic but not relevant to what I was trying to find out. And so sometimes that sort of additional information can serve to compound the stress that you might be feeling, even though it's in no way related to what you're currently experiencing, in your local setting.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: One of the main challenges in emergencies is that alongside trusted information, we also see misinformation and disinformation spread quickly, especially during high profile emergencies. Now, Anne I might start with you. Are you able to explain to us what misinformation and disinformation actually is?
Anne Leadbeater: Yes Sophie. Well, misinformation is false or inaccurate information. So in other words, getting the facts wrong and misinformation can happen during disasters because of the rapidly changing environment. Something that was true and correct at one point in time can become inaccurate or untrue because of the changing situation. Also, sometimes information can become misinformation because of the way we interpret it. So we have a bit of an optimism bias as human beings. And sometimes the information is shared with us and we interpret it a certain way. We then repeat that information to someone else with our own interpretation. And so, it can become less and less accurate as time goes on. There's no malice there. It's just the way, that the sharing of the information is, is challenging in a, in a, in a highly stressful space.
On the other hand, disinformation is a bit different. So it's a false information which is deliberately, intended to mislead. And, and so it's a case of intentionally misstating the facts. And this can sometimes occur when people are trying to control the narrative about an emergency, or its aftermath, or to influence the way people are thinking or feeling about their experiences or about the event itself.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Those two words come up a lot in terms of social media. And I guess that's just something that as, consumers or as community members, we just have to be extra careful of. And again, that comes back to selecting our selecting our platform, selecting our sources of truth.
Anne Leadbeater: Absolutely. Being really mindful about where information is coming from, whether that's a source you would trust normally, you know, you sort of need to pick and choose the information that you rely on, particularly in a high-stakes environment like an emergency. I think that mostly misinformation, I would like to say is more common, in this space than disinformation. But we need to be mindful about the possibility for both.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Absolutely. David, I might actually direct these questions to you. I've got a few here, but can you tell us why people are more vulnerable to misinformation during emergencies? Do you have a view on that?
David Younger: Yeah, I think this is a really good point in the conversation to, just make a few comments about how we respond as humans when an emergency is unfolding. And I'll just keep it brief and say that, for most people, they are going to go into a heightened state of stress. And we actually want that to, to happen to a certain extent, you know, I guess probably commonly out on the street, we might hear people talking about the fight or flight response, which is really just part of an inbuilt response system that's designed to help essentially keep us safe and help us keep others safe too, and respond to the inherent demands of something like an emergency. Now, where this is relevant in the case of misinformation is that that threat detection system that we have inside of us, that sort of operated by a very small and old part of the brain, doesn't have the capacity to determine or interpret, especially when we're talking about split second moments, where the information is accurate or not. It has a very simple job, and that is to mobilise us into action and to keep us safe.
So the risk here with misinformation is that we will either respond, you know, and go up into that heightened state of stress when we don't need to. But bearing in mind most people will be in a high state of stress during an emergency and ongoing risk with misinformation and disinformation, of course, is that it keeps that high state of stress responding and it's there for a reason, but we're not supposed to stay in that state for a prolonged period of time. And when we come through in this conversation to talk about recovery, we'll probably touch on the fact that, you know, recovery involves actually reestablishing a healthy and balanced state. So, yeah, this this is where it's really important from the perspective of, being able to manage unnecessary anxiety or distress.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Can I ask you, are there any strategies to support someone to try and manage that amplification of the fear or the anxiety, the stress that might come with misinformation and consuming that.
Anne Leadbeater: Some of the useful things that people can do to avoid, the, you know, the amplification of distress and anxieties is, as we mentioned previously, identifying what your trusted sources of information are. And we've talked about, the official sources of information, but you may also have some locally relevant sources of information that matter to you, that might come from people that you trust. I would say with misinformation that, despite the challenges with social media, communities are really good at self-regulating and self-moderating, incorrect information. So, so often you'll see things being posted by someone in the community and someone else will come and say, ‘Actually, that's not correct, Bill. You know, and that's not right, Mary’. And so we can trust the community to do that quite effectively, and particularly when the stakes are very high. But I think, what we can also do is, is to think about what it is we're going to need to know, so to, to sort of think in advance about what information is going to trigger us to take the action that we plan to take and then to know where to find that information and, and how to interpret that and enact our plans based on that.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah. And I know that is a key part of a lot of our emergency services, some of their work is often in that preparedness phase, to make sure that people have already thought about what they might do if such an event might happen, and to have a plan and, you know, in place that they're not stressed at the last minute trying to figure out what to do. David, I might come back to you.
David Younger: Yeah, yeah, really great comments and suggestions by Anne there. And if I just sort of remake a connection, I guess with this high state of stress – preparation and preparation for an emergency, not only physical preparation, but emotional preparation is really, really crucial. And that involves things like exactly as Anne just described, you know, giving thought to, which sources of media you're going to access, and how you're going to respond to that ahead of actually finding yourself in that situation. So that means we need to, as humans, think ahead of how we may actually respond if the event occurs. And the reason that's important is because where communities and people can get caught out, not all of the time, but it can happen is where that preparatory work hasn't been put in and we're trying to figure out what to do in the moment because with that high state of stress, there is a point where once it gets too high, the frontal area of our brain essentially goes offline and we lose access to the pieces of the brain that enable us to make decisions and solve problems. And this is when people can run into trouble. You know, they make last minute changes to what they thought were plans. And unfortunately, people can find themselves getting caught out, that sort of thing. So, we can go some way to reducing the chance of that, of preventing that, from happening by giving thought to what might occur ahead of it actually taking place.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: There's no one size fits all approach to media consumption, especially during and after emergencies. David, what are the signs that we might see media consumption is tipping from helpful to harmful for somebody?
David Younger: Yeah. Well, look, as a general rule, what we could say is that we're looking out for signs that our health and wellbeing isn't improving, or following a period of improvement, that it begins to deteriorate. But to be a little bit more specific, then, people can start to look for signs in any of four main areas. So those four areas being physical, emotional, psychological and behavioural, we would say. But you know, indicators of, physical ill health could be things like, people feeling increasingly restless or agitated, increased heart rate – you know, heart palpitations, changes to breathing is another one, changes to body temperature is something else, feeling quite hot? Physically. Sorry. Emotionally. Feeling increasingly scared, you know, fearful, and unnecessarily and finding it hard to feel safe. Think something else to take notes of is, people responding in ways that they wouldn't ordinarily respond to. You know, the very calm, placid person is seemingly becoming angry and irritated, and it seems out of character. Psychologically, you know, we're really looking at, I guess, things that are related to thinking patterns. So increased negative thinking for example, repetitive thinking is something that's quite common. Or people will say, ‘I'm having difficulty slowing my thinking down’. And then just that last sort of area of behavioural, well, for example, people becoming quite withdrawn, you know, disconnecting socially, not going out and doing the things that they used to do. And then one other sign this definitely occurs, perhaps a little bit more frequent in young people, but is that of increased risk-taking behaviours as well.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: And can I ask you, David, for your advice? How can people set boundaries while still staying informed?
David Younger: Yeah. So, a time limit and also deciding on the number of doses per day, as we were talking about before, definitely avoiding that continuous absorption of information, making sure that there's opportunity for good regular periods of rest and recovery or disconnection too, for media, again, thinking about media channels that you're going to access. And certainly, thinking about the reason or the reasons behind accessing information, so not doing it just for the sake of it, then it becomes a pointless process and we can very easily overconsume. So being quite intentional actually about when, how much and what my key reasons for that are.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Anne what advice would you give someone who feels distressed by coverage but then also feels guilty about switching off?
Anne Leadbeater: Yeah, it's a real dilemma because taking time out to process information and to regroup emotionally and mentally is so important as, as David has just been speaking about. But there can be a very legitimate worry about missing out on some vital piece of information while we're while we're switching off. So I think reducing the amount of information that we're trying to be across. So not monitoring every aspect of the event, thinking about those things that are going to be materially relevant to us and focusing on those, and looking for curated sources of information. So, for example, in recovery council websites will often have, a part of their website devoted to recovery that has all sorts of information about all sorts of recovery issues and challenges. And so you can go and access all of that information just in one spot, and it will be again targeted to your situation and it'll be locally relevant, and you don't have to go and visit you know, 20 different sites to gather that information for yourself to make it useful.
The other thing, I think that could be helpful is, is thinking about outsourcing the monitoring of, of social media, particularly, to, for example, friends and family members. ‘Can you keep an eye on Facebook and anything that comes up about this situation? Let me know while I just step away and take some time away from that constantly evolving, coverage’.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yes, absolutely. And you mentioned recovery and that, sort of that after a period of an emergency, thinking about people can be quite triggered, I suppose, by follow up reporting or the anniversaries of certain events, especially when they've been very impactful or traumatic. How can people prepare for that sort of media coverage?
Anne Leadbeater: I think one of the best strategies is to think a little bit in advance about the what the narrative is likely to be. So, for example, with anniversaries, the story is often around, delays and frustration and the amount of time that everything's taking. And so thinking about what the counter point to that part of the story is and that is absolutely valid. You know, there are delays and frustrations and things do take a long time, but you might also spend some time thinking about how far you've come, what progress there has been in the community. Some of the successes that have been experienced. So that so that there's a more balanced, approach and a more balanced understanding. And you might even talk about that to other people. Yes. It’s been hard. Yes. It’s taken a long time. But look at what we’ve been able to achieve. And I think that helps to, to address that sort of sense of it all being, you know, doom and gloom and difficulty, and, and it provides a bit of context to the broader recovery story than, than just, what, the narrative would, would suggest. Yeah.
Therese Fitzgerald: I think that's really important when it comes to milestone events, too. And I'm reflecting upon Black Saturday for example, and those big ten-year anniversaries, 15-year anniversaries where there are a lot of documentaries, things come up on the evening news, you know, that can be difficult for people to actually realise that they might be captured by that. And sometimes you don't allow yourself that time to prepare. So I think that advice about understanding or reducing your exposure to media in those circumstances, it might be, and I know people from my involvement in the response to the Black Saturday bushfires who didn't think that we were impacted at the time, but they happened to watch a documentary and some of those memories come back to them, and then they feel impacted by that. So it is really important, I think, to be alert to that and be in a position to respond. So that's really great advice, David.
David Younger: Yeah, yeah. Because you know, anniversaries also, and I'll say this cautiously, but they that contain a hidden opportunity once people become aware of it. And that's to do with the fact that anniversaries are of course repetitive. And if we're talking about emergencies, the anniversary tends to occur at the time of year or season that there was the initial emergency.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yes very good point.
David Younger: And that's a triggering for people. Of course. Hot windy day again or, you know, dark storm clouds, something like that. And if people can come into an anniversary prepared through repetitive exposure, over time they can actually learn how to put what has been an enormous life event into their personal history, their personal life story in some way. And that's really crucial for recovery, community recovery, psychological and emotional recovery, because that then means that an event which certainly in the early days, features as a pretty much a constant in day-to-day life. Finally finds a seat somewhere in the past. It doesn't live with us constantly in the present. So anniversaries can serve as a kind of a vehicle for that process.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Once the immediate danger is passed, recovery continues and the media still has a role to play. So Therese, can I ask you, what are some of the ways that you've seen media supporting communities during recovery and not just that response phase?
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, I think it's listening to the stories of people who have had that firsthand experience. So documentaries are really important so that other people, you know, often we live or people who live in the metro area – and let's face it, most of our emergencies do occur in, outside of the metro area – they might not understand what that really means to have been impacted by a fire or have to evacuate your home or your kids not knowing where they're going to school as a result of the emergency.
So storytelling is really important in that recovery phase, because not only does it help people feel as though they're being listened to, it helps the community understand why putting effort into recovery in those impacted areas is so important. And, you know, why funding and things like that are really critical, for a community to come out and, recover from what they've experienced. So rebuild… it might be their community hall, it might be the local pub. That kind of loss in a small community is really difficult to explain to people who live in metro areas. So I think storytelling is really important in the recovery phase, because that's the long end, right? You know, the emergency is a couple of days for most emergencies. Yeah, we've seen recently more protracted emergencies. But that long end is important. And storytelling is critical then.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: That's actually a wonderful segue because my next question for you Therese is what does responsible storytelling look like after an emergency, in your opinion?
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, being respectful, and factual, not following the politics so much, telling the truth is really critical and following a certain narrative that might be not being entirely factual and might be driven by a different kind of agenda can be really damaging for people who are trying to recover, because it might feed into something, or they might start believing something that's not actually factual. So, that is really critical. I think when we’re being responsible in our storytelling and recovering.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: And I think just, from my personal reflection, the timing can also be important. It's also making sure the subjects or the community members that you're talking to are themselves, safe and not especially vulnerable or perhaps very heightened.
Anne Leadbeater: Yeah, I think that we see a lot of difficult and distressing coverage around disasters, and that's the nature of disasters. But I think we, also have an opportunity, as David's mentioned, to focus on, on lots of good news stories. And for people who perhaps may have felt overwhelmed by the sort of the negative aspects of, of the disaster, sometimes reengaging with, with media stories after the fact exposes them to a whole lot of really great news. And we see the, the generosity and, and support from the broader community, thinking about semi-trailer loads of hay rolling into town or, you know, donated goods, and, and appeal funds and lots of things that will help, give people a sense of hope for the future that that people care about what's happened to them, and they're going to be able to access and, engage with that help when the time is right for them.
I think that we, we can sometimes see communities worrying when, their particular story is no longer leading a news bulletin or no longer on the front page of the newspaper, that the world is forgetting, what's happening to them. And, and the media cycle does move on. That's the nature of it. But, but I think, being able to reassure communities that, that their story has not been forgotten and that, and people do still care about and are engaged with what's happening for them. And so we often see that follow up reporting forming a really useful and important part of continuing to tell that story in a in a positive way.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Can I also ask you, when do you think media engagement can become helpful again for people who initially maybe needed to step away or put in place some boundaries or dosing their time?
Anne Leadbeater: Well, again, I think people need to be very careful about what is right for them. And so, some people may actively avoid, engaging with stories about the disaster for a long time. If they find it distressing, then I'd suggest that it's probably a great idea to maybe read, chat, and have a chat to someone about whether there is something else happening for them. But if people have just opted out for a while and then they're starting to kind of, think about reengaging with the coverage, then again, as we, start to hear about those good news stories, I think that can be really uplifting and it can be a really, positive part of the, of the process is, is learning that, other people understand and, and knowing what you're going through.
The other thing, which is possibly a little bit complex, is it can be important to reengage with coverage where there are inquiries or, investigations about different aspects of the disaster. And again, you need to be quite discerning about how you approach that. But sometimes finding out the facts about a situation, learning about what happened, why it happened, who it happened to, that can also be quite empowering for people if they've got questions about those aspects of the of the experience. Yeah.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah, absolutely. David.
David Younger: Yeah. I think if I start off by just creating a bit of context around basic human needs after an emergency. So they’re such things as safety and security, a sense of control, connectedness and hope and how these are all supportive of stabilising amidst what can be a series of very challenging responses and reactions, although normal given the circumstances. And so really, media engagement can become helpful for people when it facilitates or strengthens those things.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: So before we wrap up, we want to share a few practical strategies and remind people that support is available. So I might ask Anne and David - Anne I can come to you first. What are your top one or two tips for people to manage media exposure during emergencies?
Anne Leadbeater: Well, as we've talked about today, I think planning, where you're going to get your information from is critical and recognising that, trusted resources for information have a role both before, during and after disasters. So it's quite important to think about those, those three phases. So before a disaster we might be thinking about services like the CFA or the SES or Council, or someone like the Australian Red Cross in terms of our preparedness for disasters and emergencies and using the resources that organisations provide. During an emergency, obviously, we're going to be listening and looking out for information from the response agency and agencies. But there's also, an opportunity to connect with experienced community members, families and friends and trusted groups and organisations. And, of course, those official sources of information and warnings so that we've got the best possible understanding of what's happening. Both at the sort of the mental level of the emergency, but also, on the ground in the immediate community.
And then afterwards we've got recovery agencies, local council, community groups, friends and family are all going to be able to play a role in supporting recovery and providing that flow of information, making sure we’re across the things that we need to know. Information is the lifeblood of recovery and indeed, preparedness and response as well. So we cannot overstate the importance of good information and being able to access the information we need when we need it.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: And, David, the same question to you, one or two tips for people to help manage their media exposure during emergencies.
David Younger: Yeah. Firstly, managing their dose to media and, you know, holding themselves to quite strict boundaries around that. And then secondly, I just wanted to mention, paying attention to your own body and your own mind and recognising the signs and the indicators that it might be time for a bit of a break.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: That actually leads me straight into my next question, which, David, I'm hoping you can help me answer. When should someone consider seeking extra support?
David Younger: Yeah, yeah, such a great question. Well, definitely when others, for example, family, friends, colleagues, are expressing concern for them on the basis of changes that they've noticed in that person. But then secondly, when a person themself has noticed changes, too. But I sort of give that first example because, you know, we have people who are very open and help-seeking and people that aren't so help-seeking.
And for people that are less help-seeking, it will tend to be others that recognise changes in them. And it's important to listen to those, listen to what people mentioned to you. But also, you know, other indicators, just the sort of thoughts that we can have to ourselves at times as where maybe just starting to show a few signs of becoming unwell. So, you know, I often hear people saying that they don't know exactly what's wrong, but they just have a feeling something is not quite right. And they’ll use words like that. Or they'll say, I'm not quite myself. Or a very obvious one is thinking to yourself, ‘I can't cope anymore’. So these are all, you know, red flags, really, and indicators that it's time to seek some help and or talk to somebody.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah, absolutely. I do think we have very well covered trusted services and resources, but I will just reiterate or maybe give Therese the opportunity to reiterate, what’s our number one trusted resource?
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, the Vic Emergency app, of course, or any of our official Vic Emergency channels. So we have social media channels as well. So if social media is your choice, you can go to Facebook or Instagram or any of those other platforms. I'm showing my age there probably, Snapchat?
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Who knows? I don't know if you Vic Emergency’s on Snapchat, but they’re around, I'm sure you can find them anywhere.
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, yeah. And that's important that we keep adapting to the audience, right? Because I know I'm the mother of a teenager who, gets her media through different, different forms to traditional ones. So we do have to keep adapting to that. But Vic Emergency is the single source of truth, along with our trusted official media broadcasters in emergencies. And we do like to advise people that you shouldn't just rely on your phone, for example, to receive information, because in an emergency you might not have access to that. So a really great alternative is a battery powered digital radio for example. So… and that way you can access the information coming from your local broadcaster. So having multiple ways you can access is really important. So one final plug, Vic Emergency.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: I love it. Thank you so much. And I note that Anne did also provide us with a very comprehensive list of some other options such as your local council, whether that's in person or on their website. Usually, communities affected by emergencies or disasters may have relief centres or recovery centres where a lot of emergency services do congregate so are you able to go in person and seek some support that way as well. So yeah, just keep your ear to the ground and see if you can go direct to the source for some of this information.
David, can I ask you what sort of trusted services or resources would you encourage people to access if they are concerned about their, let's say, their mental health or their wellbeing?
David Younger: Yeah. So if they're needing that a little bit of extra, I guess, reassurance or checkup, then I would absolutely suggest, checking in with a local GP. Another option is of course going to see an allied health professional, like a psychologist or a, a mental health social worker. But just also thinking about communities, of course, and emergencies unfolding communities, going to your local community health centre, if there is one, often is a good resource in terms of information, going off to your local recovery hub, if there is one as well. Lots and lots of useful information relating to mental health and wellbeing. And I also note that much of the time there is a government website which lists information centrally relating to mental health and wellbeing, and that will include contact details for Beyondblue, for example, Lifeline, Men's Line, Headspace, Kids Helpline, et cetera.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: If you are someone who is concerned about the impacts, and some, one of your loved one’s mental health and wellbeing after an emergency, how would you approach that? What would your advice be to them?
David Younger: Yeah, so I think this is a really good point to talk about the fact that it's, you know, really well known and understand that the vast majority of people who experience an emergency recover, you know, they recover their emotional and mental health and wellbeing. And they do that without accessing formal supports. But, you know, there is, regrettably, a smaller proportion of people who will need that formal support. And, you know, some of those options I've mentioned, for those people, though, they don't you're not going to go down the path of accessing a formal support. That doesn't mean that they're not going to experience challenges along the recovery pathway or journey. And this is where family-based support, supportive friends, but in particular, the supportive community is really, really crucial. And often we talk about formal supports and informal supports. So, you know, I would say something like a regular community dinner where people meet and they share experiences both emergency related and non-emergency related is an example of informal but incredibly vital and crucial support. Now, at times and during conversation, it can certainly become apparent to people that another person is struggling. You don't have to necessarily be a qualified mental health person to know what to do. You actually just have to be human in that moment. And listen and be open and support. But for anyone that is concerned about signs or what they're hearing, well, then you could, you know, link in with the service and express your concerns and just try to find out how you might link that person you're concerned about to a formal support service. But most people are going to be through their community networks, able to work through their emergency related experience.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: So, thank you all for jumping into this conversation with me. As we close out this discussion can I ask you, David and Anne, about seeking formal support as opposed to seeking informal support? So, David, I might start with you.
David Younger: Yeah. So I guess the formal support is professional help. And, probably my response is going to apply mostly to those people, who are experiencing challenges at some point, but don't recognise that they're experiencing a challenge or difficulty or somewhat hesitant to engage with professional support because people who are aware that they have an issue and are motivated to work on it and are going to experience challenges in seeking professional help. So, I guess to those people, that group of people, I would say that it's so helpful and also important to get in early when there's an emerging problem or issue, it's usually so much easier to overcome challenges than it is if we bury them, push them aside and leave them for years and years. And I've seen that many, many times over in my work.
I also often commonly say to people that seeking help, although it can feel very hard and challenging, professional help, usually it's not that hard and challenging once you sort of make that decision and go along and meet with someone. But I also encourage people to think about, if they're not actually too concerned about their own health and wellbeing, to do it for others, then to do it for other people in their life that will care for them, will love them, will be concerned for them, you know, use that as a motivator to, go and talk to somebody. And then just lastly, to any parents and carers that are out there, I would just encourage them to realise that one very, very effective way that you can support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in your lives, is by managing your own health first.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yes wonderful. And Anne how about some informal support?
Anne Leadbeater: Well, we draw on informal support, you know, all the time, of course, in our lives. And so often there is quite a network of supporters around this. We might not always be aware of what role they play, but certainly after, a disaster, then we really see the importance of those connections come to the fore and the way that communities support each other by maintaining connection, by helping to, pick up the threads of life, if you like. And, and, you know, community events, activities, festivals, you know, things that gather people, around the opportunity to share what's happening for them are tremendously important. Quite often after a disaster, we will see, community dinners happening. And in fact, I was, at one last night in a bushfire-affected community and just the love and support that people are able to express for each other, checking in, ‘How did you go with this issue? How is that working for you?’… and so you can really see that the therapeutic and the beneficial effect that that has for the people who might be traveling this road. So there is lots of informal, informal supports available, as David said, rather than waiting for it to go wrong and then trying to fix it, maybe seek the support to prevent it going wrong in the first place.
Having said that, I can say that it's actually really difficult when you're in a disaster-affected community to have the objectivity to assess your own mental wellbeing. Sometimes it's easy to think because you're so tired that, you know, you just you're okay, but you just really fatigued or, you know, it'll all be okay when this particular stressor is fixed. So just having that that thought about maybe seeking some independent advice about how you're traveling and whether there are some things you need to be aware of in terms of looking after your own mental health. And finally, I would say that, sometimes people can tell themselves, well, it's too late. You know, I've left it too long. It's too long ago. No one will understand why I'm still feeling the way I'm feeling. We saw a really significant surge in requests for mental health support on the 10th anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires. And many of those people were seeking help and support for the very first time. So they had been carrying that experience with them for ten years. So I would encourage people, you know, not to do that. Reach out much sooner because disasters shouldn't climb that much. Of our lives.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yes. And I know we say recovery is an ongoing journey, but it doesn't perhaps need to be quite that challenging for that long, that long amount of time. Yeah, thank you so much.
Therese Fitzgerald: I'd probably say the same for emergency service workers in this space, often are not great at reaching out proactively, although as emergency service organisations, we are far more proactive in offering the services to our staff and our volunteers. So, and I think often your colleagues and most importantly, your family and friends know you the best. So if somebody taps you on the shoulder and says, I think you need some help, it's, you know, it's advice, it's given with love and care and, you owe that to your family and friends to actually look after yourself following an emergency and take up that offer of support, be it professional or in a more casual way.
Anne Leadbeater: Sometimes in communities that are impacted by disaster, there emerges a strange kind of hierarchy of grief and impact.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: I’m so happy you've... Yeah. Yes. Yeah. True.
Anne Leadbeater: And so what we can see happening is that people will start to decide that they don't, they're not able to feel sad or distressed or angry about what's happened to them because worse things have happened to other people. And, or sometimes we see people, self-excluding from resources and support because I don't need it as much as this other person whose situation I happen to know. So, this is a fairly predictable response, at a community level around disasters that happen. But I would encourage people to understand that that loss is loss, that whatever has happened to you is what matters to you, and to not feel that because someone else's situation is perceived to be worse or more distressing to not feel like you're not deserving of every bit of help and support that you might need, in order to, to have a successful recovery for yourself. So, yeah, it is bad on lots of different levels, but it all matters. And it's all valid. So how people are feeling is how they're feeling, and we need to support them in that.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Absolutely. And I can imagine that perhaps media coverage might, you know, obviously telling people stories, but it might exacerbate exactly that. What you're saying is people then begin to compare their experience to others and feel that maybe they're not worthy or deserving of, you know, maybe they're not coming off as good because someone's had it worse, someone's worse off. And so they don't deserve to feel bad or feel upset or grief or stress and all the rest of it.
Anne Leadbeater: Exactly. And I think that, that comparison is, is largely unhelpful because we don't always understand the full context of everyone's experience. I remember hearing about I am a beekeeper in, in a bushfire disaster. And he lost his hives in the bush and he was absolutely bereft about the loss of these hives and, and some of the recovery support people were a bit perplexed about why he was so profoundly upset, because it seemed like it would be a relatively simple thing to buy some new hives and get some new bees. And so someone made some, you know, discreet and kind inquiries and discovered that they were his grandfather's hives and then they were his father's hives, and then they were his hives. So the grieving he was doing was not about the physical embodiment of the beehives. It was actually about that sense of history and tradition and the fact that the hives had been lost when they were his responsibility. So we really have to be careful about prescribing levels of loss to people because it's largely unhelpful and it often doesn't reflect the full experience that they might be having.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah, that's an excellent point. Thank you. Therese, do you have any last thoughts before we finish off this conversation?
Therese Fitzgerald: Well, what I would say is that in any time of an emergency, whilst we have a whole range of formal and official things to do, and things to do about looking after your family and friends, whether it's in a professional or personal perspective, I think it's just important to be kind to everybody in the community, including yourself.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Well said, thank you.
Therese Fitzgerald: It's a bit of a warm and fuzzy finish.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: Yeah, that is lovely!
Anne Leadbeater: It's a nice note to finish on.
Sophie Gunther-Vale: It is. Well, thank you Anne, David and Therese for joining me today. A reminder to our listeners that there are some useful resources in the show notes. I hope you found this episode helpful. I'm Sophie Gunther-Vale. Thanks for listening.
Anne Leadbeater: Thank you.
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