C.J. Braden • 4 Minute Read
How To Ease Your Fears Via My Hurricane Ian Story
I was recently faced with what some people would think of as a “fearful” situation. Hurricane Ian swallowed up my environment, my island home of Sanibel Island, Florida. Before the event, uncertainty was the driving force behind fear and I felt it in the air.
For my full story and Hurricane Ian experience (what it’s like to experience the moments before one hits as well as worry about people I care about that decided to stay on Sanibel Island and became trapped), scroll to the bottom of this page OR Click Here for our ongoing story that will run from 2022-2023.
Fort Myers and the Sanibel Island area was hit hard by Hurricane Ian
Whether to leave your home or not before a storm may not be an easy decision, despite what you may think. Leaving any uncertain situation, such as a major storm, an abusive relationship, a job or many other things that may not be favorable is not always an easy thing to walk away from.
This situation has reminded me of all of the times I’ve had to push through fear and I thought my process may be helpful to anyone else that may need help breaking out of fears. Read on to learn about how I break out of my fears to see love and light.
Here’s our 1 minute video below via our Youtube channel “Carolyn Braden” showcasing the healing room we created in our home so you could make a similar space in your home too:
Fear is merely a four letter word but it can produce a feeling that makes you feel strangely numb. It can almost immobilize you, making you feel like getting under the cozy covers of your bed and staying there until the situation is over. Unfortunately, not all circumstances in life allow for this. Oftentimes, we have to stay out of bed and deal with the fear head-on. Here is my process.
1- Distraction
Pets can be a happy distraction
The first way I start dealing with fear is to first distract myself. Sometimes I turn on a funny television show like Friends (my favorite series!). I have watched the episodes about a million times each, but they are always funny and humor tends to help my brain lighten.
Warming comforts can ease a fearful mind
I also will text or call my actual friends and family and tell them how I am feeling. A true friend will always allow you to vent a bit which can be helpful. If I can, I’ll go into nature, play with my pets or I’ll listen to my favorite music. Meditation, reading, and exercise are also great options.
Distracting your brain from some of your favorite activities can help move you away from fear and back into your normal routine.
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2- Action
The calm before the storm is a great time to prep
In phase two of breaking out of fears, I take action. My husband and myself prepped early when word of Hurricane Ian started spreading, getting plenty of water, batteries, a generator and more. We actually started our hurricane prep from the moment we moved onto the island, even adding well-needed impact resistant windows.
A few days before it was predicted to make landfall, we moved all of our patio furniture and items to a safe location on our property, cut any loose branches, and braced things that needed to be secured. It made us both feel like we at least protected our home and possibly other homes from extra possible flying debris.
Gorgeous tropical sunsets will return to Sanibel again
The night before the storm reached land, it changed direction and started tracking right towards the Sanibel Island area. We decided to evacuate, basing our decision on our previous personal experiences, watching the weather maps and using our own gut instinct/intuition. Some of my neighbors stayed as the media can tend to make some things hard to believe with years of outrageous scaretactics during prior storms, and they just didn’t think it would be as bad as it was.
Staying busy and taking action against any potential infliction caused by nature or other people actually can help ease a fearful mind.
3- Work
Creative work can help ease fears
Phase 3 of breaking out of your fears is one where I’ll pour myself into my work. I am a writer and a creator, so my work helps me tremendously. Just writing this article was helpful in easing my mind. My husband works from home and his company allowed him to have time off to prep for the storm (which should be a typical response of employers if you are dealing with a natural disaster or major life event) and be fully off in the event of evacuation or power loss, which we had both with Hurricane Ian.
Whether you work from home or have to be on location, getting focused on your work can be a form of distraction, but it also can be fear healing.
4- Move Forward
Seeing love over pain is helpful in easing a fearful mind
After distracting yourself, taking action and pouring yourself into your work, the last thing you can do is move forward and face the fear itself. Whether you have to face the fear of moving to a new location, having a child, quitting a job, having a difficult conversation with someone, marrying someone, divorcing someone, letting someone go, or whatever it may be, you have to move forward. That’s what life is all about.
Moving forward and facing a fear is truly the only way you can conquer it. It gets easier the more you do it. Trust me. :)
My Full Hurricane Ian Evacuation Story:
We decided to leave Sanibel Island, our home, when the Hurricane Ian tracking made it start coming right at us. I went into a state of meditation to calm myself as I packed our necessary item for us and our pets. Meditation has an amazing brain healing power during stressful events.
The deafening whirring noise of the storm started right before we left Tuesday night at 12:30 am. Yes, probably later than we should have left, but the tracking showed it going more north up until right before we left, so it was a difficult decision for a while, but thankfully we listened to our hearts. And to my cousin who called me in a state of severe worry.
Hurricanes have a strange sound right before they hit
Hurricane Ian, hours before swarming into the area like the honey bees, sounded like a strange machine in the air. Then the frogs started a strange “singing” noise in response. In the darkness, it reminded me of a strange movie scene, right before an unknown monster pops out of the darkness. In this case, the monster was Ian, telling me it was coming.
Between that and the honey bees that took up a quick residency in a tree in our yard right before this event to seek higher ground to protect their queen and hive was was very surreal and seemed to tell us to get out.
We drove through the night until we reached higher ground, the mountains of GA.
We stopped in Ellijay, Georgia (shout out to the owners of the Airbnb that got us in so quickly and have been so kind!) and will go to Indiana on Sunday to stay with family until our inspection of our house/property (we know it’s at least still standing) and until our insurance can assess everything. We’ll continue to work remotely as we’ve fortunately been able to for years now.
The intensity of Hurricane Ian wiped out 1,000’s of structures in Florida
My heart is full of love as so many friends and family reached out to me, offering their homes and calming, positive words and prayers to us. Tommy and I are taking turns crying. It seems as if grief and worry for those still there is our first emotion. This will be an emotional process, as this a a form of trauma that will affect many people for many years.
The Sanibel Causeway will need be rebuilt as the causeway connecting Sanibel to Fort Myers is destroyed in three or more areas.
We gave the names and locations of our neighbors that stayed to our local council people/authorities. Please help me say prayers for them and all others, including our beloved wild animal friends affected by this. It’s a messy situation now, but it will be okay. The sun always shines again.
If you know of anyone in the area of the hurricane, or in a possible future one, please reach out to them without hesitation. The smallest positive action can have the largest positive impact.
How do you work breaking out of your fears? Tell us in the comments below!
C.J. (Carolyn) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.