The Breaking Point of Surfside Building Collapse Survivors
Imagine how it felt to have your side of the Champlain South Towers still standing; all your personal belongings, life possessions, and memories abandoned in your condo – but not destroyed in the disaster. How hard would it be to watch a controlled demolition that will implode your life’s work, helpless to retrieve any belongings?
Yes, you say, at least they survived and are alive; life is more than the 28 confirmed dead and one hundred still unaccounted for have. Absolutely, that is right! Life is a gift, and without it, there is no hope.
So, put yourself back in their shoes and realize they are telling themselves the same thing: Material possessions can be replaced, but life cannot.
Imagine the survivor’s guilt they must be feeling as they watch their condo explode and think of all their belongings lost, trying to bury the emerging grief by reminding themselves they are far better off than the other side of the tower. “I lost everything, but I am alive. Half of the residents are not.” Would you even be able to bring yourself to watch the video of the demolition?
I just want to say to all those displaced but alive residents that your grief is real, too. It’s okay to feel the loss you’ve experienced. You are not belittling the overall tragedy or the victims by allowing yourself to recognize your own personal loss. Only you know what you are truly feeling and going through at this time. Your grief should not be compared to that of others, and you should be allowed to express how you are feeling without being told “at least you are alive.” Of course, you know that! You lived it, not knowing if you would survive or not. How can other well-meaning people not recognize you already realize that on your own?
But at risk of a poor analogy, burying your emotions and guilt will in time eat away at your foundation. When there is enough strain on it, you risk a huge breaking point that can bring you tumbling down just like your condominium building.
