How Natural Disasters Affect Individual Levels of Stress in a Community: The Christian Principle

Health psychologists refer to the process by which we perceive and respond to events thought of as harmful, threatening, or challenging as stress. The means by which events, such as natural disasters, effects an individual is through either biological processes, psychological influences, or sociocultural influences (Clayton & Myers, 2009). Although many theories exist in an attempt to identify causation; biology, cognition, and social factors all influence levels of stress-the three are inseparable.

Because an individual's physiology is unique, he or she reacts to events differently. For example, a hyperactive autonomic nervous system creates higher stress levels than that compared to an individual with a hypoactive autonomic nervous system (Clayton & Myers, 2009). Consequentially, Hurricane Katrina affected people differently despite the similarity in circumstance. On the other hand, perception too is a factor regarding the reaction to Hurricane Katrina.

How people appraise a potential natural disaster also affects individual levels of stress in a community. Studies show environments prone to natural disasters affording little or no warning increases community awareness and therefore stress (Kar, 2009). For that reason, the potential of a disaster striking at any moment keeps the community in moderate to severe states of arousal. However, factors such as social economic status and disaster response also affect individual levels of stress (Kar, 2009). Therefore, how an individual perceives imminent disaster depends on his or her perception of said natural disaster; thus, the differences in stress levels among a community.   

Social influences do not replace cognitive influences on individual levels of stress in a community. Social influences rather facilitate the reaction to a natural disaster pre-disaster and post-disaster (Yoosun & Miller, 2006). This is not to say that a cultural norm cannot mold an individual's cognitive schemata thereby dictating the perception of a natural disaster. Nevertheless, an individual's unique physiology and cognition can seemingly break the dictated norm.

The Bible has a play in stress management and even prevention. If an imminent disaster was to strike, yet the world knew about it, and sources report that there is nothing to stress over-all will be fine; people should go about life as normal. The Bible states clearly what will unfold (natural disasters, immorality, etc). Should the world worry? That depends on your position on Jesus Christ and His claims.

Clayton, S., & Myers, G. (2009). Conservation Psychology: Understanding and promoting human care for nature. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Kar, N. (2009). Natural disasters in developing countries: Mental health issues. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, 63(8), 327-329.

Yoosun, P., & Miller, J. (2006). The social ecology of hurricane Katrina: rewriting the discourse of "natural" disasters. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 76(3), 9.