Activity
1. During J. Eric Gentry’s visit with the Florida Power and Light employee, what symptoms
did the survivor show?
It is common for anyone who has been affected by a disaster to experience some level of
reactions (SAMHSA, 2020). According to J. Eric Gentry’s story, the survivor had shown a lot of
symptoms during his narration such as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, irritability and headaches. The
symptoms were quite clear back when he was sharing his frustrations about what had happened
to him and his family as well as the problems that they are currently facing after such disaster.
2. What had the survivor experienced when he asked how long Eric had been there?
The survivor was talking about the hardships that he had gone through during the disaster.
He did not straight up ask the question himself, instead he was absolutely puzzled because he
looked as if he was not perfectly conscious. Many people will experience distressing thoughts and
feelings after a disaster (Morganstein, 2019). He was still trying to bring his composure back
together. Not only did he suffer a lot during the disaster, but the fact that he was in that kind of
state, it was so hard for him to constantly talk about it because he had been taken over by his
anxiety.
3. Was telling his story to Eric helpful?
It was definitely helpful for the survivor after telling all of those sufferings to Eric. On the
other hand, I cannot tell if that was helpful nor beneficial for Eric. One way to help others truly
comprehend what happened is to talk about it, letting them repeatedly hear the words come out
of their own mouths (Florian, 2020). Moreover, the fact that the survivor had someone he could
actually talk his frustrations out, was a lot helpful for him than anyone could imagine.
4. How did Eric respond? What other responses would you have made in this situation?
Eric was very professional while talking to the survivor. He was even willing to lend him a
helping hand with as much help as he could offer just for the survivor to at least feel at ease. I
personally would lend a helping hand to the survivor, but I have to admit that it would be really
hard not to be affected by those stories told by them. However, he was also traumatized by the
survivor’s story because he felt like he was sharing the pain with him. Nevertheless, Eric never
showed that he was actually experiencing an emotional distress while communicating to the
survivor. Situations like this happens, due to their continuous exposure to victims of trauma and
violence (Quitangon, 2019). It was also stated that it was Eric’s 6th assistance which led to a
trauma called vicarious trauma whereas he brought their grief, fear, anger, and despair into his
own awareness and experience (Jefferson, 2020).
5. How did you react emotionally and physically to the survivor’s story and to Eric’s
reaction after he departed?
I was really moved by the survivor’s story. Coming from the perspective of a disaster
survivor, it would be really too hard to talk it all out: frustration, anxiety and grief. I was glad that
the survivor was able to share what he had experienced and willingly shared the problems that
he had at the moment. After the survivor left, I was really shocked because Eric was extremely
professional and nice all throughout the conversation. He was also even trying everything that he
could, just to help the survivor, when in fact he was also being traumatized with the story about
the disaster.