Ice Storm Trauma

Trauma responses often make sense when we understand their origins. Several years ago, during the ice storm in Fort Worth, my pipes froze solid. It took over ten days for the ice to thaw and for multiple pipes to be repaired. During that time, I was stuck in my apartment without running water, something I had always taken for granted.

Fortunately, I had a couple of cases of bottled water to use while the water was out. As time went on, the water began to run low. You don’t realize how essential water is until you don’t have any. Think of all the times a day you use water: drinking, washing, shaving, flushing the toilet. I even got a hotel room for a couple of days just so I could take a shower.

By the third day, flushing the toilet became a priority. I discovered that it takes twenty ½ liter bottles of water to flush my toilet completely. This was shocking. Thankfully, I didn’t need to flush the toilet very often.

I made it through the ice storm without any major injuries. In fact, once the ice had thawed, I assumed any aftereffects had melted away with it.

Then I started to order water.

Once things returned to normal, the following week, I ordered my groceries with one exception: I ordered two cases of water. At the time, this made sense. I needed to replenish the water I had used during the freeze.

But then, the following week, I ordered more cases of water. I continued to do this each week for the next two months.

Before I realized what was happening, I had twelve cases of water in my home.

Ordering the water was an overreaction, an attempt to protect myself. Trauma does that to us. When we understand our trauma responses as natural ways our bodies protect us, we can be more compassionate towards ourselves and our reactions.