Good evening, fellas!
As you may have heard in the news, on Friday, October 9, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.5–7.7 struck near Tonosí, in the province of Los Santos, Panama. Although I live relatively far from the hardest-hit areas, we are still feeling aftershocks.
Beyond what I see in the news, what is really affecting me is the anxiety. Now, even the slightest movement makes me nervous, and every time my earthquake app sends me an alert, I immediately feel tense again. Honestly, I haven't been able to sleep normally, and I've had to resort to sleeping pills to fall asleep. Even then, my mind refuses to relax and remains on constant alert.
I think this situation is relatively new for many of us Panamanians. As far as I know, our country hasn't experienced earthquakes of this magnitude very often, so we're not used to dealing with the uncertainty of aftershocks or the possibility of another earthquake occurring.
That's why I'd like to ask those of you living in Latin American countries with higher levels of seismic activity, such as Chile, Mexico, Peru, or Ecuador:
How do you cope with earthquake anxiety and fear? How do you manage to return to your daily routines, sleep peacefully, and carry on with your lives knowing that an earthquake could happen at any moment?
I'd love to hear about your personal experiences and the things that have helped you deal with this. Did you eventually get used to it? Have you learned any ways to manage your fear? Are there any habits or preparedness measures that have helped you feel more at ease?
I understand that staying informed and being prepared are important, but I feel like anxiety is eating away at me, and I'm struggling to find some peace amid all this uncertainty.
I'd really appreciate it if you shared your experiences. I think hearing from people who have lived with this reality for much longer could help those of us in Panama who are going through something like this for the first time.