Stories of Recovery: A Mother Battles Trauma from Typhoon Odette

Whenever a super typhoon hits the Philippines, the whole country comes together to help the stricken provinces. We send relief goods, clothes, water, and supplies. However, it takes more than relief supplies to recover from the devastation of a natural disaster, and it survivors need time to rebuild, to heal, and to recover.

This is Marivic from Cebu. She is still grappling with her families’ losses from Typhoon Odette. Their house was blown away, their recently paid-off motorcycle gone, and even the coconut trees her husband relied on for income were destroyed.

This is Marivic’s story of healing.

“It was really devastating, and remembering it still hurts me so badly. I couldn’t grasp that everything we had back then, so many years of hard work, was completely gone in just one night.”

Marivic and her husband standing where their house used to be before Typhoon Odette blew it away.

My husband and I always had little fights because of my trauma. Every time it started raining, I would panic and start packing our things. I just didn’t want to experience the same thing again. And then I would start crying. My husband always reprimanded me because I would do that even for light rains. Even though there were no reported typhoons, I would feel like Typhoon Odette was coming again.”

Standing in front of their newly-built house

It [the trauma healing sessions] really helped me manage my anxiety. Little by little, I practice managing my panic attacks when I hear raindrops on our roof. I was  able to pour out my heart to my newfound accountability friends. Every time I was able to share my thoughts, it always lightened my burdens. My fear and worries slowly are fading away. I am overcoming my trauma day by day.

Marivic’s Recover Batch Photo

I have learned that no matter what life throws at you, there is still hope. I have lost hope and was overwhelmed by my emotions, but I was able to overcome it with the help of the trauma healing lessons and the word of the Lord I heard in the Recover Program.”