Unnatural Disaster

Catastrophe has a way of telling us something about ourselves, even things we may not want to know, or already knew but would have preferred never to acknowledge. Whether we are referring to the recent hurricane or the earthquake before that (earthquake? what earthquake?), or to some personal trauma of whatever magnitude, we can learn much about who we are by the way in which we deal (or don't) with what has happened, as well as the aftermath.
Yes, sometimes we deal with traumatic events by flat-out denial. There's a scene from the classic movie Jumbo, where Jimmy Durante is trying to sneak an elephant down the Main Street of a town. (Don't ask, just see the movie!) Suddenly a police officer appears and says sternly, "Where you going with that elephant?" Durante looks around innocently and then says, "What elephant?" Following revelations of misconduct by any authority figure, even those who would not otherwise defend such suddenly find reasons why (a)it didn't happen (b)it wasn't all that bad (c)we should all just let it go and move on.
Sometimes we deal with trauma  by trying to deal with our anger over what happened and our shame. Well, see, even though we aren't to blame for what happened, we still have this irrational guilt as though we either made it happen or didn't do what might have kept it from happening. Rape or incest survivors often deal with this issue of both anger at the abuser and shame that they were somehow at fault.
And sometimes we deal with awful events by getting very busy. Sure, there are a number of practical things we have to do in the wake of disaster, but we can sometimes look for more to do as a form of distraction, as a way of reclaiming some sort of self-worth, as a way of imposing order on a world which seems suddenly chaotic.
And of course there are those who cannot get past it easily or at all. Soldiers and other military personnel who have been through combat face issues most of us could never handle. My son-in-law, a 20-year Army veteran, has to sit with his back to the wall when he goes out to a restaurant, simply so he can see all around himself and feel less anxious. But Post Traumatic Stress Disorder isn't just limited to vets like him. Other who have risky professions may have to deal with it.
One of the commonest ways of dealing with such experiences is by sharing what we have been through with others who have been through the same, or similar. We talk with one another about how we did during the hurricane. We join groups of others who have traveled the same traumatic path. We seek out a professional to guide us in this suddenly-unfamiliar land. Here we can talk of our anger, our shame. Here we can let go and move on. Here we can learn what catastrophe has to teach us.