Seven weeks on since major flooding in Creswick residents are being encouraged to slow down, 'take stock' and reintroduce some balance to their lives.
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Clinical psychologist and disaster recovery pioneer Dr Rob Gordon OAM shared his advice with more than 40 community members at a community meeting on Wednesday night.
Residents continue to grapple with the aftermath of the devastating storms that caused flooding on January 5, with Hepburn Shire Council aware of 55 residents who remain unable to return to their homes.
Dr Gordon said now was a good time for community to be talking together, as residents moved out of 'overdrive' mode.
This is a time of transition to recognise its a marathon not a sprint.
- Dr Rob Gordon OAM
He said people would be getting increasingly fatigued if they continued trying to address all their issues at once and could be suffering a 'degraded quality of life'.
"They stop doing things to enjoy themselves, stop recreation, stop exercise, feel too tired to cook so eat takeaway, can't be bothered visiting their friends, get irritable and grumpy with each other and so on," he said.
"This makes life very very hard, therefore they are not recharging.
"This is a time of transition to recognise its a marathon not a sprint. As long as you stay in sprint mode you are infuriated because you can't get action quickly enough from all sorts of agencies.
"The more angry and upset they get they more they stay in emergency mode instead of taking it steadily. Taking it steadily means they prioritise quality of life... things that give you the energy to keep going."
RELATED COVERAGE: Creswick floods after huge storm strikes region
Dr Gordon said he heard stories from people at the community event that they felt they were going to die during the floods.
He said these were significant experiences to talk through and it was important other community members and family and friends did not show judgement.
"One of the problems is anyone who hasn't been through the disaster doesn't get it," Dr Gordon said.
"Other people can say things that are unhelpful like 'you have to put it behind you' or 'you are lucky something worse didn't happen'.
"That doesn't help them process what did happen. That is why it is important for the community to come together and talk to each other."
Hepburn Shire Council Mayor Tim Drylie said council would continue to host sessions to give community a chance to meet and talk.
He said the storm recovery team was available at Creswick Hub to help with psychological, financial and other supports.
RELATED COVERAGE: Creswick floods: Council confirms number of homes affected
Dr Gordon encouraged residents to get involved in community sessions.
"We know people who get involved in community activities recover quicker and better than those who try to do it by themselves," he said.
"I encourage people to use a whole range of support services. There will be people who are aren't used to using help."
Dr Gordon said he heard sad stories at the community meeting about people who had experienced flooding three or four times in the last 10 years.
"It is very demoralising and I think people need to be careful they don't move into a feeling of depression," he said.
"We know that very often the emotional, psychological and mental health consequences come to the surface a year or two later when they have everything fixed up, feel they can relax and find they are not happy.
"We know if people use services and get support and advice early it can be preventative."
Dr Gordon said the best approach for friends and family to provide support was to listen, even though the affected person may repeat themselves or seem to only want to talk about the floods.
"If we listen carefully and what they are saying isn't clear to us that means it must not be clear to them," he said.
"If we get in then and say 'what do you mean by that?' they will have to go to the experience and examine it to the answer, that will help them sort their experience out.
"You don't have to solve their problem, just understand what they are saying and listen to them so you can share it with them."
Cr Drylie said the next phase for council to support Creswick residents was to work on making the community more resilient and prepared for future events.
This could include advocating to state and federal government for resources to build better infrastructure.
Cr Drylie said council acknowledged there was still a lot of infrastructure repair work that needed to be done and the team was responding to requests from home owners.
He said COVID-19, staff shortages and the 'overwhelming number of requests' had caused delays.
"We are getting lots of requests to look at drainage issues, that is obviously featuring very large with community's experience that there has been shortcomings in drainage and some of our waterways infrastructure," he said.
"That will form a large part of the review we do into what worked and what didn't work in this event. It does take time for us to get a really informed picture of what is going on."
Hepburn Shire Council estimated 35 homes were destroyed and more than $25 million worth of crops were damaged in the January floods.
About 150 homes and $10 million worth of council infrastructure was damaged.
Some residents reported up to 240mm of rain in a few hours, along with significant amounts of hail.
Contact council on 4373 7373 for flood recovery support. Contact Cafs Ballarat on 1800 692 237 or welcome@cafs.org.au for financial assistance.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
