Dealing with "survivor's guilt" amid wildfires? An expert shares some advice.
The wildfires in California are leaving many of those unaffected feeling a sense of "survivor's guilt."
A resident of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood told CBS News Los Angeles their house is still standing despite neighboring home being destroyed.
"The only happiness we have is to be able to get our sentimental stuff out of there and some valuables, but everything around us is gone. I don't know if I should be extremely happy or guilty feeling that everybody else's stuff is gone," he said.
On "CBS Mornings Plus" Friday, Dr. Sue Varma, psychiatrist and author of "Practical Optimism," said it's normal to feel both grief and gratitude in these types of situations.
"You can have grief for the people around you — doesn't have to be that you personally experienced it. We know that people who witness wildfires and were not impacted beyond just the witnessing still have symptoms later on," she said. "We really are a society that is social and for the most part, caring and empathic."
To help with these emotions, Varma suggests finding ways to channel the guilt more productively.
"Is there a way for you to channel the survivor guilt into something impactful? Can I advocate? Can I help?" she said. "For a lot of people, getting outside of their head and outside of the ruminations, and finding some productive way to channel it."
This could include:
- Volunteering
- Offering care packages or housing
- Donating money, food, water or clothing
- Becoming an advocate for related issues
"It makes you feel needed and wanted and productive, because it's about helplessness and you want to take back a sense of agency," Varma said.
