BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – Like the swirling images of a nascent hurricane on a radar screen, the emotional and psychological fallout from Katrina is gathering across the region. But just as weather forecasters have difficulty saying where a storm will land and how much damage it will do, therapists say the long-term mental-health effects of last year’s killer storm also are hard to predict.
“The fact is that we don’t know a lot about the actual incidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression associated with Katrina,” says Dr. Raymond Crowel, vice president for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the National Mental Health Association. “It’s probably useful to think of Katrina as a slow motion disaster that has continued to unfold for people.”
But eight months after Katrina inflicted a $100 billion hit on the Gulf Coast and killed more than 1,300 people, Crowel and others say some things are clear:
--Hundreds of thousands of hurricane survivors will have serious mental health issues and a large percentage of them want some kind of help dealing with psychological issues.
--Trauma from the storm and living conditions that followed have irritated and fractured relationships throughout the community.
--Substance abuse -- from cigarettes to hard drugs -- appears to be increasing.
--One set of numbers indicates a dramatic increase in suicide rates in the storm area.
--There is a special concern for the trauma suffered by children during the disaster.
Dr. Anthony Ng, who heads the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters, spent a week in Waveland soon after the storm hit while serving on a federal team sent to assess mental health needs in the Katrina area.
Extent of trauma difficult to quantify
“We are seeing an increased rate of some of these psychiatric disorders, PTSD, depression, substance abuse,” Ng says eight months later, while agreeing with Crowel that the issues are hard to quantify. “There are no numbers because people are still scattered everywhere.”
Crowel says the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has taken a stab at the big statistical picture and estimates that 300,000 to 500,000 people “are going to have some significant mental health problems from Katrina.”
He says that estimate is based on studies conducted after Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida in 1992 that found that up to 36 percent of adults met criteria for PTSD, 30 percent for depression and 11 percent for general anxiety. Up to 29 percent of children showed severe PTSD symptoms, a number that leaped to 56 percent in the hardest hit areas.
Andrew was the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history at that time, but it was far less deadly -- 23 lives -- and far less costly -- $27 billion -- than Katrina proved to be 13 years later. Initial assessments from the Centers for Disease Control are that nearly half of the people who experienced Katrina said they needed mental health care soon after the storm and 70 percent said they would make use of mental health services if they were available, Crowel says.
A spike in suicide
Most chilling, he adds, figures from the New Orleans area indicate that “suicides in the four months after Katrina were double the national average. Obviously, there’s some distress.”
Mental health practitioners in the hurricane zone say their work with Katrina survivors backs up the general views offered by Crowel and Ng, and they are beginning to see some delayed stress reactions. Whether or not there will be many cases of full-blown PTSD remains to be seen.
“It starts coming in through the back door, more or less,” counselor Lynn Holland says in her home-office on Webster Street in Bay St. Louis. Now that lives are settling down and people are back in more normal routines, they have time and space to be more affected by “the guilt … the trauma … that leads to this whole swirling inside.”
Bay St. Louis counselor Lynn Holland has seen a number of emotional and psychological reactions to Katrina. (Jim Seida / MSNBC.com)
“The symptoms of PTSD just make you feel like you’re crazy so you really don’t want to talk about it,” she says, adding that clients with whom she ends up talking about storm issues do not arrive saying they want to talk about Katrina.
“I don’t know that people know how to identify what the storm is doing, nor do I. I know that it depresses me to come down here,” from Jackson, where she spends a lot of time now. “It’s heavy when I come down here and I’m happy when I leave and I never thought I’d say that.
“A lot of people just drink, just use drugs, just use sex to try and soothe that pain. Some people run, do the socially appropriate thing of running marathons. If it’s not a peaceful place in here,” she says, sweeping the back of her hand across her chest, “you try to find it out there.”
Another Bay St. Louis therapist, Dr. Angel Carpenter, says the psychological issues she has seen since Katrina are touching but not surprising. She has been working with many clients on relationship problems, anger management and stress.
Carpenter and Holland agree that Katrina likely didn’t cause friendships, marriages and parent-child relationships to founder, but clearly compounded those issues where they existed. “They’ve lost their homes and they’re living in little tiny FEMA trailers,” Carpenter says, so it’s no wonder that tempers flare.
“All of a sudden, I think it just shakes the foundation,” says Holland. “If the problem’s not already there, I wouldn’t think this would cause it, but it would certainly exacerbate it.”
Carpenter has seen a fair number of clients “who weren’t really having any problems before.” Since the storm, they are experiencing “sleep disorders … not getting any joy out of anything … just feeling numb to it all … a lot of helplessness and a lot of hopelessness.” For many, the process is similar to grieving.
And, like Holland, she is seeing plenty of delayed stress. “Right after the storm, it was just a kind of survival mode kicking in” and emotions “got put on a back burner and people thought they were dealing with it really well.
'A point where they couldn't handle it'
“Suddenly, they reached a point where they couldn’t handle it. I’m seeing that probably in the last few weeks.”
Along with the emerging reactions to stress, Carpenter is seeing more “self-medicating” behavior. Some of her clients who were reformed smokers have started again and she sees “a lot more alcohol problems.”
While Carpenter and Holland don’t work directly with young children, they have seen and heard from other therapists that clinginess and fears about being alone or leaving the house have increased among kids.
In making a plea to pay special attention to the mental health needs of Katrina’s youngest survivors, the group Voices For America’s Children noted that “the impact this disaster has on children’s mental health is only beginning to surface and may linger for months and years to come. …Without adequately investing in the mental health of children affected by Katrina, we can never fully expect to rebuild the impacted Gulf States.”
Therapists say they’re finding that standard techniques of talk therapy and some cognitive-behavioral models, in which thoughts are connected to unwanted behaviors in an attempt to change them, are working best with Katrina clients. For some, anti-depressant medications and other drugs have helped.
“What I have seen in Bay St. Louis and Waveland is everyone talking about their experiences and I think that’s going to help a lot,” says Holland.
The passage of time also will help. “Human beings and children in particular are very resilient and will tend toward health over time,” says Crowel. “That will be true for the majority of people who were exposed to Katrina.”
Visible change, hidden pain
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Of course, having much of the country weigh in on how we are ripping them off in order to rebuild our mansions probably isn't helping...
Q., BSL (Sent Apr 30, 2006 11:47:27 PM)
as things get better people will too....some will never heal emotionly ...most will...what is expected after a disaster of this magnitude?....i'll bet school didn't train any therapist for this
andy,ms (Sent May 1, 2006 9:22:36 AM)
This past Saturday morning my 10 year old daughter became very distraught when she awoke in our FEMA trailer alone. I had just stepped outside to take the trash out! She was in a heap in the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She berated me for not being in the trailer when she woke up. I listened, then crawled into the bed and hugged her. I tried to reassure her that I would not go off and leave her alone in the trailer, ever! While she did calm down, she also was adamant that I not EVER do that again.
Saturday night found her anxious about the storms that were pounding parts of Louisiana and headed our way. She was concerned, rightfully so, about our safety in the trailer. The wind had blown all day and continued into the night. Strong gusts rocked the trailer. Neither of us got much sleep that night. Every hour I was up checking the weather channel for updates to the storm.
The rain was certainly welcome. We could have done without the wind.
My daughter was brave throughout Hurricane Katrina. She kept her head and never panicked. She has taken everything in stride and kept a smile on her face. She is a survivor! But the ghosts of Katrina, that have haunted many of us, are now surfacing for her.
She needed a break from our usual weekend routine of working on our gutted home and going to the laundrymat. So, on Sunday we went out to lunch and came back to our trailer and played Monopoly.
For a few hours, we were real estate tycoons, wheeling and dealing our way all the way to the Boardwalk. In the end, she was the bigger tycoon.
It was a good game!
Sometimes, I forget that she is just ten. She is wise beyond her years, in so many ways. But she is still ten and while she has hidden it well until now, her heart was broken by Katrina.
Kimberly L, Waveland,MS (Sent May 1, 2006 10:00:09 AM)
Thank God the system is trying to get a handle on the mental health angle of Katrina fallout. Espcially the children as they say, I have had PTSD since I was 12(gang rape),and my life has been much harder than need be. Hopefully, this will not be the case with these people, if they are able to recieve help.
bsue, Little Rock, Ark. (Sent May 1, 2006 10:48:47 AM)
The psyche fallout will be there for years, much like 9/11 has and will continue to be for the rest of us. It is yet another reminder that this nation can't forget our southerly brothers and sisters and must do whatever we can to support them.
Stephanie Umbro, Maine (Sent May 1, 2006 11:43:42 AM)
This is why I feel some people across the nation are heartless when they say they are tired of hearing about Katrina and related stories. You can't imagine how people are suffering until you walk in their shoes.
ann, covington, la (Sent May 1, 2006 1:56:31 PM)
I would have never guessed how much THIS storm has mentally affected all of us on the Coast. From the children (who have had very little time to mull over their situations - schools in Pascagoula, doubled up on their school hours to make up for lost days, have had no councelling to the kids) to the elderly (what can you say) and the people that are working/struggling to keep it all going from day to day. We have lost our possessions, family members, homes, and we are expected to "keep up" our chins in face of it all...it ain't easy, but I guess we'll somehow manage...I hope no one in this country ever has to experience this in my life time again...
SLoper, Pascagoula, MS (Sent May 1, 2006 2:36:45 PM)
When I evacuated to Dallas from New Orleans, I was incredibly depressed. I received counseling there for the sleepless nights and dreams of water. However, I've since moved back to New Orleans and my depression is worse. It has become difficult to find crisis counseling here, so I'm going back to Dallas where I can get the help I need.
Janice Brown, New Orleans (Sent May 1, 2006 3:03:18 PM)
I'm a Katrina evacuee living in the Tallahassee, Florida area. I have to commute almost 50 miles to work each way daily. I have a place to live and a job, and I thought I was ok, but the other day, I was playing a cd and heard a song by Frankie Beverly and Maze. I suddenly remembered dancing to that song at the Essence Festival a few years ago and thought about all the fun I had in New Orleans and I suddenly broke down in huge, heaving sobs. I hadn't cried much since Katrina, but that day, I had to pull over and I haven't cried so hard in ages. The crushing pain just was squeezing the breath out of me and I couldn't stop crying. I missed being in New Orleans, I missed my friends, I missed the good times I used to have and I knew that all that was gone forever. I can't describe the pain I felt. I feel isolated from mostly everyone and I hurt because sometimes I feel most people have forgotten us and all that we went through. I hate to go home to the house I live in now, I feel like my spouse is no longer my spouse, but just somebody I live with. I am out of place, out of time, out of everything. I went to a counselor, but he wanted to talk about my marriage which I already know is over. I wanted to talk about how I felt since Katrina and he kind of glossed over that, so I didn't go back, but I know I need to do some therapy cause I am in such pain now. I really hope the people in America don't forget us all and don't think we are all loafers and thieves or whatever. Most of us are just hard working people who lived in a great place that no longer exists. We are trying to live in this new life but we weren't ready for this and we are having a hard time now. Please understand how we feel - even though most of us don't understand it ourselves.
Brenda (Sent May 1, 2006 3:10:43 PM)
Thank you MSNBC, and NBC (Brian Williams) for continuing to cover this story. It is unfolding. This blog has helped me realize that my feelings too are validated. My children also melted down a couple of nights ago when we were surrounded by tornadic weather. We too do not know whether to stay or go. We have been a sort of an outpost for others, though most folks up and down our block flooded. (during Rita too.) We did not, but only by 1 inch. We still have 'Lakeview Folks" living with us. They were denied any kind of rental assistance. They are rebuilding, day by day. It is difficult to live down here as it is different. I have all of the repect in the world for the hardy souls who are going into the city eveyday, trying to bring it back. I naively thought that in 6 months or so that we would be betting more or less back to 'normal', but Pre-K is just that, a dream for many. The idea of another hurrican season looming is traumatizing. All of us, especially parents, will have to swallow our own fears to be strong for our kids.
Mary Kay,Madisonville, LA (Sent May 1, 2006 4:02:00 PM)
I have numerous times stated that some people who want to help can help by giving people here vacations. YES - we need them. I myself have done a few things and I actually hear myself laugh and am amazed at the sound. Please, any one out there that can assit a family in a get away, a vacation, please do so. It might be avoiding reality but laughing is good for the soul.
A good vacation trip will be something positive that a family can remember during these times. A picture of the family with Mickey Mouse hanging on the FEMA trailer wall will surely bring a smile.
BettySue, Waveland (Sent May 1, 2006 4:13:35 PM)
Dear Brenda,
My heart goes out to you! I understand how you feel about New Orleans. Probably the only people who really understand how special that area is, are the ones who were born and raised in South Louisiana like I was. I do understand how you feel out of place and out of time, like you are living in a time warp. From personal experience, I know what it is like to lose everything and feel totally lost. It takes a long time to get over it, if you ever do. The best thing that can help you is time, just take one step at a time and one day at a time. The stable things of life, job, every day routine, is what helps you get through it. And for myself, a very strong faith in God. God bless you and please know someone does care.
Ann, Greensboro, NC (Sent May 1, 2006 6:17:23 PM)
One thing that we on the coast are going to have to get accustomed to is that we will never be "normal" again. Normal disappeared on Aug. 29th 2005 and will never return. Someday we will have something else that we call "normal", but that is years away ... and there will be many of us that will never see "normal" again. After Camille we didn't "return to normal", we had to refigure and become something else down here, which took years. Now we face it again ... and so many things that were "normal" are now gone, never to return ... the old homes, the trees, the shops that will never be rebuilt ... those were "normal". We are rebuilding and going foward, but this will only be normal for our children and grandchildren. And that is a psychic blow that we down here will be receiving on a daily basis for a long time to come. Yes, most of us will "weather the storm", but each and every one of us will, at one time or another even years from now, will think of "what was" and shed tears over it.
Lanie, MS Gulf Coast (Sent May 1, 2006 6:35:09 PM)
BettySue ya'll are welcome at my house anytime...shoot we will go to the Tenn. river catch some fish and have a hoodah...get your vacation....ya'll come!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 1, 2006 8:44:09 PM)
I can't sleep. I'm always tired. And we're still on "the list" waiting for the carpenter to ever get to our house. Every day we have to wait, the cost of building materials goes up. Our insurance company says they have given us what our estimates have said we need to fix our roof, but when we add up the checks, they don't add up to that. So, it's back to the insurance office. Again. It's probably just as well the carpenter hasn't gotten to us, because we wouldn't be ready anyway. And hurricane season starts in a month.
Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent May 2, 2006 2:07:44 AM)
My family and I lived in Metairie, LA prior to Katrina. We have been all around, from New Orleans/Metairie to Kentucky, back to LA (living in a hotel room for four months, trying to find permanent housing. There is no place to live unless you move away. I was born and raised in New Orleans, and my roots are in that city/state. I don't want to move to a different culture. I love my home, New Orleans. My daughter and grandson and I have been traveling together as my daughter is disabled. We had FEMA trailers in Covington, LA, but due to plumbing problems we had to vacate the trailers. I have been suffering from depression since the storm. For a long while I was afraid to leave the hotel/trailer/car, or whatever we were calling home since 8/28/05. I feel like a gypsy, having no roots. I feel sad and hopeless. After talking with FEMA representatives (who have been very kind) it appears they still can't financially help me. I had a good job prior to the storn, and now I can hardly maintain a job. I was unable to work for months after the storn because I was afraid to leave and drive anywhere, much less hold down a job. I could not think, I didn't really understand what was wrong with me. I felt like I was losing my mind. I am taking an anti-depressant now and a counselor, thank God for that.
When I hear people, who were not effected by the storm say "they need to get over this". It makes me very upset because it's not over for us. We still have no place to live. My 15 year old grandson has been to four schools this year. We are staying in a dirty old nasty trailer temporarily, in the woods outside of Hammond, LA.I don't know if this message will be put on the web, but it has made me feel a little better, just expressing myself. Please pray for our people from New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast. This devastating "Katrina" has ruined many lives.
Gayle Ellis, Springfield, LA (Sent May 2, 2006 11:25:41 AM)
I have family in the Ocean Springs area. I am deeply and sincerely sorrowful about all that the coast has had to endure since last August 29. My heartfelt respect and concern go out to all survivors of this horrible hurricane, be they current residents of the Gulf Coast or folks who've moved on. Nothing has been easy. My prayers go with all of you.
Janelle Meehan, Brooklyn, New York (Sent May 2, 2006 12:10:02 PM)
Gayle please keep the chin up. Myself, I am better now but stories like yours' bring back the pain (I do thank God I do not carry it at every moment now.) That is another example of how we will be affected forever. The pain of knowing how you feel carries among us all.
What you feel is very very "normal" for the situation. Know that you are normal, that is important. Be thankful you are normal. All I can say to you (because I know hard to believe anything) is that things will fall in place for you. For some reason we all have to do the freaken dance from hell to get to a good spot. Your good spot is waiting, know that, know you will get there!
God bless you - keep talking, keep venting, so many don't understand and won't listen. We here who know will listen and we will support you. Remember that too!!!
To the rest of you, don't this woman sound like she needs a trip to Disney World, or the mountains, to find a smile for herself, her family? Even for a day? A moment?
BettySue, Waveland (Sent May 2, 2006 12:31:17 PM)
I also thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown Sat night when the weather blew through Bay ST Louis. My Mother and I stayed for Katrina and wound up on the roof of our house for 5 hours in 150+ winds...Give you any idea about how I felt on Sat pm and into Sun am. No sleep til 3 am when weather finally settled down. I had no idea how badly I have been affected by staying through Katrina. My Mother would not leave and as I have told people I may need therapy for staying in a storm but I don't need it for not leaving my Mother who would not have gotten out of the house by herself... I still have her and that is the most improtant. Next time we have another gully washer or Hurricane I think I am heading out. Stay Strong folks, and get aid and assistance where you can.
Maddog45 (Sent May 2, 2006 1:39:22 PM)
I wonder about how those volunteering in the area have been affected also. We have friends who have given up their apartments and jobs and are there working "for the duration". We also know volunteers who have been there to work, came back home, and are deeply upset that people back home seem to have forgotten what still needs to be done along the Gulf Coast. We keep all the people living and working there in the Deep South in our prayers every day. Y'all are such incredible people!
Hoosiers who care (Sent May 2, 2006 3:05:47 PM)
When you are down, and oh your soul so weary. When trouble comes, and your heart burden be. Still He is strong, and waiting in the shadows for you to come and sit away while with He. He'll raise you up so you can climb the mountains. He'll raise you up to walk on stormy seas. He'll raise you up to more than you thought you'd be.
Lynn, Kansas City, MO (Sent May 2, 2006 4:41:50 PM)
Gayle Ellis, express yourself more....and we will listen...cry...and pray for you and yours....it'll get better{can't get no damn worse}
andy,ms (Sent May 2, 2006 6:16:16 PM)
We all know that we are going to have friends move on, we will have changes in jobs and homes. But what we didn't expect is how much and how quickly things would change in just a few hours time. Not only were many homes and businesses completely gone that we had come to love and depend on but the people ---- in a matter of three weeks six of my long time good friends had to move as they were hit worse than me. Now I find myself not wanting to replace anything I lost and what is scaring me so badly, I don't want to make new friends because I know I'll just lose them too.
shena, pass christian (Sent May 2, 2006 6:43:28 PM)
I am a former resident of New Orleans. I left 10 years ago, but my heart is still there. I want to share something that would make a huge difference to people surviving Katrina's aftermath. I recently learned a technique that is very effective for trauma, stress, anxiety, PTSD, physical pain, etc. It is very quick and easy to learn. I consider myself a newbie to it, and have already successfully healed 47 people including myself. It is called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). If you go to the website www.emofree.com, you can download the manual for free. You will be amazed at the results!
David Shear (Sent May 3, 2006 10:49:59 AM)
Unfortunately, my job requires travel. This was good for evac purposes, but that's about it. I have two little kids, and I find it harder and harder to hop on that plane and go away from them. I also find that I am not as outgoing as I used to be. I have people asking me all the time, you ok? Well...no, I'm not.
B. Francis, New Orleans, LA (Sent May 3, 2006 11:46:15 AM)
Many years ago I read about a mother whose child panicked when she woke from a nap and could not find her mother in the house. The mother had stepped out of the house to hang clothes on the line. The mother asked the child to draw pictures of the mother hanging clothes on the line, taking garbage out, working in the basement, etc. Now, whenever the mother is in a different part of the house or outside the house, the mother tapes the appropriate picture on the refrigerator. That way her child immediately knows where the mother is.
This may help if your child is having separation anxiety. Hope this helps.
Becky Lewis, Louisville, KY (Sent May 3, 2006 11:47:09 AM)
I was a Red Cross volunteer in MS. I too am still affected by Katrina. The devastation was impossible to absorb. I was told, by the RC counselors, I put up a wall so I could deal with the situation. Normally I'm somewhat emotional, however I have shed only one (1) tear since my work there.I am putting off going for help in the hope I will get back to normal. I'm beginning to think one never fully recovers from these types of events.
Matthew Kean, Fort Lauderdale, Fl (Sent May 3, 2006 1:36:23 PM)
I thought I had cried everything out in the 2-3 months right after the storm (I am from Bay St. Louis, but now reside in Hattiesburg).
I cry a little when I go down and visit my parents and we dig through the dirt in our yard like archaeologists digging for artifacts of a life past...it's hard.
We lost our home, everything we had, and no matter how many people continue to say so flippantly, "At least you have your lives!" and other familiar phrases we've all heard a million times by now...the truth is that we may have our physical lives, but our lives are lost and will never be the same again.
The shock of it all gets to me every time I go to visit Mom and Dad, it seems as though they've aged 20 years since August 29, 2005. No wonder, it's a lot to handle.
But I don't think it truly, really hit me until the other night while I was on the phone with my boyfriend.
All of a sudden, I had this wildly vivid flashback.
I was back at my old job (Grand Casino Biloxi), and I was walking through the Associate Hallway on my way to the Associate Dining Room (ADR). I read the little Weight Watchers flyer on the wall and then swiped my ID card for a meal ticket. I went through the line and got something to eat, as well as getting a bowl of mandarin oranges from the fruit/salad bar.
I sat down near the back of the room, under the TV, and conversed with Jimmy, a cook at the restaurant where I worked as a hostess/cashier (Murano's Italian Buffet). We waved at coworkers and glanced at the TV and made little silly jokes.
It moved into slow-motion as I looked through the window, at the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, boats going along smoothly through the water, and I felt proud of where I come from...the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast.
It's like it just smacked me in the face like a ton of bricks. The shock of it all. I was sitting there and admiring the beauty of something that is no longer there, and never will be again. Sure other casinos and other barges and buildings will be built, but I'll never sit in that old ADR again, or at that table. I'll probably never see most of those coworkers again, either. We've all scattered to the four winds and moved on to other careers in order to survive.
Then, I remembered sitting on my dock back home, and looking out at the bayou and the point and the marsh and the houses across the way over in Garden Isles. I sat on the bench on our dock and looked back at our beautiful house, a house we built with our hands, our blood sweat and tears went into that house...and I contemplated the idea of a big hurricane coming through. I don't remember if I was talking aloud to my mother or if I'd just thought it to myself, but I remember saying or thinking that I knew a big one would come, in my lifetime, maybe more than one, and it would surely take everything from us. I just didn't think it would be very soon.
What kind of foreshadowing that was. God was trying to tell me something, I believe. Maybe He wanted me to think a little harder on those things, and prepare a little bit better.
We all sit around and think about what we should have done better, what we could have done differently, how we could have saved that thing or that pet or maybe even a person....but the fact is that, it's over. We can't. It's happened already and no matter how hard we pray or beg our chosen higher power to let us, we can't go back now and fix those broken and lost things and lives.
The only thing we can do is heal and move forward. The rest of the world has forgotten us, but we are so strong, Mississippi. We will be okay. This hurts so much, we have been battered, torn, and bruised beyond recognition...but the Coast will rise again, and we will be even better than ever.j
Accept change, it is truly the only constant.
Natalie Fields, Hattiesburg MS (formerly Bay St. Louis) (Sent May 3, 2006 2:32:11 PM)
Everyone I know seems to have some signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Depression, including myself. I lost my home, my brother lost his home, my grandparents lost their home, most all of my friends and co-workers lost their homes. Everyone I would normally lean on and talk to about my problems have problems of their own to deal with. I certainly don't want to complain about mine. We are all in the same situation. Everyone is just trying to regain some since of normalcy, familiarity, and security. Everything Katrina took from us. I am rebuilding my home, but it feels like a stranger's home. I just don't feel comfortable there. I stayed during the storm and had to be boated out. I guess I associate my home with that feeling of chaos. However, South Miss is my home and I would never leave the area. Things are frustrating, but there are hidden blessings. People from all over the country are here helping rebuild our area and I feel that people are praying for us. Those volunteers will never know how much we appreciate them or the prayers of strangers we will never meet. Together,we will rebuild the Miss Gulf Coast and it will be better and more beautiful than before!
C. Barlow, Pascagoula, Miss (Sent May 3, 2006 5:24:38 PM)
I read all this with tears in my eyes. We live in Mobile, AL and our home flooded. Only it seems like we aren't as important. My son has had behavior problems and the teachers aren't that compassionate. They extended help to MS and LA people but don't extend the same feeling to the people in their own backyards. I am depressed and yes we are lucky to have our lives but my son lost the only house he ever knew. It seems like people expect you to cope without emotions. Now my son who is an A student missed out on the National Honor Society and they can't see he has been through a disaster. He also lost his grandfather in February. My heart just aches for him. I am trying to move on and thought I had. Yes, I am grateful but it doesn't take the pain away. I guess I feel bitter for those who were not there for us. Thanks for this space to let me vent or rant whatever you what to call it.
Kelly, Mobile, AL (Sent May 3, 2006 6:00:34 PM)
shena, maybe you did't want to make new friends....but got them anyway....Smile hon...PEACE!!!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 3, 2006 11:15:37 PM)
We lived in New Orleans where Katrina put over 4 feet of dirty water in our house for over 2 weeks. We vacated prior to the storm and traveled north staying at different places and finally settling 6 weeks in and out of hotels. For almost 2 weeks we weren't sure if we flooded or got looted. We determined that we would rather get flooded because then maybe we would be able to save some things. My daughter was a senior in high school, her school did not open until January in New Orleans. Her car was at our house during Katrina and we found it down the street. It had floated away. Our house was destroyed from water damage and most everything in it.
We were not able to salvage much. My daughter wanted so deeply to go back to her school in January for class but I couldn't let her leave us with everything we had challenging us. We have settled into TN. and have since bought a house. Even though our world has changed now and we are fairly settled the nightmares of Katrina constantly haunt us. I can't sleep very well, eating habbits change, relationships are stressed and yes...you become numb to many things and find it hard to get excited about much. Althoug it did teach me that family is important and materialistic things don't matter as much. This storm has effected so very many and mentally I don't think any of us that experienced the rath of Katrina will ever be the same.
LMR, New Orleans, La. (now TN) (Sent May 4, 2006 5:13:41 AM)
My heart is filled with so much pain when I think of what you all have had to go through. I am at the office crying at the moment ... the strength I see in those comments amazes me. You never know what your capable of until you have nothing. Although, it is hard to see a silver lining, there is one. It is in everyone of you that carry each day a new. No matter what else life throws at you there is nothing that you will not be able to handle. What does not kill us makes us stronger. Have faith ... its the one thing that can't ever be taken away.
Ashley McAdams, Rockville MD (Sent May 4, 2006 9:45:40 AM)
The people that are going through mental changes are not close to GOD. Ktrina was an unfortunate event, however, one has to lean on GOD to provide a path of recovery, after all GOD will come to your aid if you ask. One must remember that GOD can resolve all things since he is the creator and ruler of all things. So if you are a believer then GOD will restore your fortunes, but you must have that belief that GOD can do all things and everything will be alright. Praise the LORD
theodore johnson 466 howe avenue Shelton Connecticut 06484 (Sent May 4, 2006 10:48:18 AM)
B. Francis, I know how you feel and trust me one day you will hear yourself talk and know you are coming back. I am sure it is different having young children leaving behind for work. One day you will feel like a participate in life again.
I promise you that. So try to keep healthy, still think about the future, call your kids every chance you get because you will feel better one day.
Good luck!
BettySue, Waveland (Sent May 4, 2006 11:07:23 AM)
I am from the Gulf Coast of Florida and I remember how scared I was when we thought it was going to hit us. My heart goes out to all of those who were saved and lost. Please always remember that you have your lives for a reason. Try to find something (can be small) and think about the good in that one thing. It is a start to healing you and your mind set. I can't even start to relate to your situation and say I know how you feel because I don't but you are in my thoughts and please don't loose the "sweetnesses" that are still left.
Stephanie Wilton, Sarasota, FL (Sent May 4, 2006 4:53:37 PM)
My family from Biloxi MS and New Orleans sufferred through this devastation. Ten from MS relocated to Connecticut after the storm. With a wealth of supportive family, safe housing,and all kinds of services offered to them the depression of not being home was evident everyday. Eventually 7 mos later they moved back to the coast only to homelessness. Although being warned by family members who remained on the coast that it was not a good idea to come back they returned and are suffering mentally as well as economically. Mental health problems for this population is so real so much so that they could not rationally except that there was no more (home) as they knew it. I will continue to pray for you all. Be forever empowered
Rona M Durham, Bridgeport, CT (Sent May 5, 2006 10:34:39 AM)
My house suffered no damage from the storm. I lost it in another way. My husband's elderly parents, whose Waveland home was reduced to slab by Katrina, moved in with us after the storm. One kitchen (and two women), one bathroom, one living room, two couples and a 5-year-old. It has been stressful, to say the least. And the 5-year-old has been very traumatized by the whole thing -- the evacuation, the storm itself and the aftermath of her grandparents losing everything. They sometimes forget how affected she is by what they say in front of her. And I feel guilty for complaining that my home is no longer my own! I'm alive. They're alive. I now have built-in child-care and they help with the grocery shopping and the cooking. But I miss MY house and the opportunities to be alone and quiet sometimes.
Lori, near New Orleans (Sent May 5, 2006 3:45:00 PM)
To all of you, and especially Brenda and Natalie Fields, I want to say you aren't forgotten. I am from Mississippi and though I've been living in Florida for 25 years, Mississippi is still home. I had family from Hattisburg to Tupelo and many of them lost property and were cut off from the world without electricity for days. But this was mild compared to what happened to people on the coast. The year before, Hurricane Francis paid us a vist. By the time it got to Gainesville, it was only a Tropical Storm, but it was moving at 10 miles an hour and sat on top of us for 30 hours with 70 mph winds. A huge tree came down on our house, we were flooded and still have a bedroom with a hole in the ceiling. We were without electricity or fresh food for several days. It took a year to get our new roof put on. No one helped us. Family that was on the way to visit (since we live in Florida and provide free room and board) just turned around and went home instead of coming to help. They didn't want to get a scratch on their new SUV. That was hard. Yet that was only a tropical storm. So we watched with horror what happened in NO and tried to watch what was happening in MS. Unfortunately, MS just doesn't exist as far as a lot of the news programs are concerned. So I learned to get my news from the MS TV stations over the internet. My church supported a family from Metairie and got them back on their feet. We have sent money and two work crews, including our pastors, to work on homes in Biloxi. We haven't and won't forget you. No one can give you back what you lost, or even restore your trust in this sanity of life to what it was before. But we haven't forgotten. And we won't. Best of luck to you all.
Joanne Clarke, Gainsville, FL (Sent May 5, 2006 4:28:07 PM)
natalie fields you are MOST wise.
sunny new orleans (Sent May 5, 2006 10:37:27 PM)
I am from Shreveport, Louisiana and lived in New Orleans for four years in dental school in early-mid 90's. I will always have a special place in my heart for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. My wife and I visited New Orleans in late December and toured the ninth ward, Lakeview and other devastated areas along the Mississippi gulf coast. I was heartbroken to see the utter devastation in this area. I think about the residents of these areas who have lost everything every day and I just want to say you are not forgotten and are in many prayers. God Bless and Godspeed!
David, Knoxville, Tennessee (Sent May 6, 2006 4:47:09 PM)
You folks all are walking wounded! You had the bombardment, then the day after! Then the days of being completely alone. If anyone deserves the term traumatic stress you guys are surely in the top five. Hell your government forgot you had paid your taxes for 5 days or more. They forgot you existed! I look at the NOAA photos with stupifaction 8 months after. At the White House the occupants can get feeds from sats. in real time and they forgot to look for coastal Mississippi. It took a tv crew from France to find you I think, correct me if I'm wrong, I think it was the TF6 tv channel. So yes folks you deserve better but you don't have it. I grew from 14 to 2O in Waveland from 63 to end 7O. I have lived in NOLA and in Manhatten and I thank all the gods that anybody wants to believe in that I spent that time of my life in Waveland/Bay. In Waveland we all have private beaches! We have better weather and it is a great place to raise a family. The towns will come back but it is going to be slow, and the tensions you are under are not going to speed up the recovery. My dad just had some volunteers from Mont., Mich., NC.and Ga. clean out the junk in the shell of his home They did a wonderful job for free after a local had asked for only 9OOO! You are all in need of help and you are the only ones that can help each other Millions of people around the planet care about you and are watching your "Rising from Ruin"! You will all be fine again someday, keep on keeping on.
terry malone II Marseille, France 13001 (Sent May 7, 2006 12:15:24 PM)
Thank GOD for the omnipotent Theodore from Connecticut who knows the hearts and minds of all people, or at least the people of the Gulf Coast. I will have to pay more attention and notice that only un-GODly people suffer grief, pain, and "mental changes" from "unfortunate" events. It will be difficult though since I (unlike Theodore) am unable to determine who is or is not near to God. Perhaps Theodore will find it in his heart-a "calling"- to come here and provide Christian counsel to the many thousands of "un-godly" people who are going through "mental changes" due to this most "unfortunate" event.
P.S., Bay St. Louis, MS (Sent May 7, 2006 10:50:40 PM)
not to be an a**....but i guess i need Theodore's help...maybe unfortunate events in my life could be prevented{like natural disasters} with his counseling....we need ya so bad please come Theo!...i'm soo "un-Godly"
andy,ms (Sent May 8, 2006 8:21:45 PM)
There are lots of good people out there keeping an eye on us and always encouraging us to be strong. There are several that come into my thoughts but thanks to Andy from Mississippi who has been making concise, good, uplifting comments (and often funny ones)from the beginning of Rising From Ruin.
shena, pass christian (Sent May 9, 2006 1:32:14 PM)
SEE, I told ya you had NEW friends....want us or not we are there!!!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 11, 2006 9:29:14 AM)
Theodore, didn't Jesus say that the poor in spirit were blessed? Maybe they are the ones who truly can see what is important in life. To say that people who are having difficulties are not close to God doesn't make sense. They may be the ones closest to God, after having had everything else taken away. Didn't God allow Job to lose everything because he was closest to God? I don't see the people here cursing God, and neither did Job. TThey've prayed and they believe. They will be restored.
Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent May 12, 2006 12:22:14 AM)
This is a very interesting and informative article. Being in the mental health field, it sheds much light on the many callers who have turned to the Crisis Line of Bridgeway Center for help after Katrina.
Sybie Hobbs, Ft. Walton Beach, FL (Sent May 17, 2006 9:07:04 AM)
Sybie, if your in the mental health field....i may need your help more than i need Theodore's
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 18, 2006 6:49:46 PM)
andy, you're hysterical. i'm steve harper's sister-in-law and i've watched your comments in all of his postings and now here.
kelly, you're in my backyard honey - i'm in mobile too. have you tried counseling for your son? i have been referring all of my MS clients to www.melanieferguson.com Dr. Melanie Ferguson. she's very soft spoken, non-threatening and REALLY helps with PTSD and such. good luck and love to you
amanda, mobile, al (Sent May 19, 2006 10:16:12 PM)
amanda, is hysterical "good" or "bad"?....i never know...some people don't understand me....what a drag it is getting old....ta coin a old Stone's song!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 21, 2006 11:02:30 PM)
I want to write just to let you know that you are not forgotten. I think of you everyday and pray for you everyday. I watched in horror as the government dropped the ball at the time of the disaster and sat at this computer and wept for all the victims of katrina. I confess that in the beginning my horror was at the chaos in NO, but soon I saw that MS had been hard hit as well. I wanted to leave immediately and come and volunteer but just as quickly realized that in the aftermath I would have been more a liability than a help. I sometimes forget that I am in this wheelchair and am no longer able to cut trees, clean and haul debris, etc. But, I haven't forgotten and I continue to pray for you. I understand PTSD and have suffered from it for years and it can get better. Mine resulted from abuse and with time and talking it is better. I also understand in a VERY SMALL way the feelings of loss and devastation. When I was watching the news reports from Katrina I thought of the T-shirt I have put away that says "I survived the Flood of '93". My family and I were very lucky--our basement flooded and we lost the hot water heater and the furnace... We were in an evacuated area and had no gas to cook with and the whole area lost water because the water company flooded. Across the river from us, our neighbors (including my sister-in-law) lost everything...houses flooded with all their worldly possessions. My biggest disappointment was the loss of our garden--we were in our 3rd year of growing vegetables for sale, the flood took it all (just as we were becoming known and established)and the money from the AG dept. didn't even cover the cost of our seeds and plants much less our lost profit...it put us out of business. So, I say, in a small way I can understand how you feel. And I want you to know YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!
Jean Burgess (Sent May 22, 2006 4:33:27 AM)
I was one of the lucky ones. Although I lived directly on the Beach in Gulfport and my entire apartment building along with 98% of my possessions was completely destroyed, I was able to relocate to Jackson, MS where the bulk of my family lives. Because I worked from my home, I never missed a paycheck. I signed a new lease two days after the Storm. Although I have been blessed, I will never be the same. I still have nightmares and not a day goes by without thinking of those less fortunate. I not only lost 'things', I lost connections to the past, a way of life, and friends I miss every day. The help and compassion so generously shared from the rest of the Nation inspires me to heal, but I shall never forget.
Walter Johnson, Ridgeland, MS (Sent May 23, 2006 1:31:59 PM)
Amanda,
Thank you for letting us know you care. My son is doing better now and we are rebuilding our home. I have thought about counseling and I know it is a good idea. Thanks to everyone for their prayers. I know time will make this better. Let's hope the 2006 season will be mild. Maybe we can all go to Connecticut and stat with Theodore.
Kelly, Mobile, AL (Sent May 23, 2006 3:00:19 PM)
I take great umbrage at those who think we who lost our homes, family, friends, and in my case my marraige are suffering mentally because we are lacking in our relationship with God. My relationship with God has never been stronger and I thank him for sending all the mental health assistance to help us deal with this crisis. I have learned over the years that God and most importantly the people God sends to us whether it be a minister, priest, therapist, family, friend, or one of the many outstanding individuals from across this great nation who come to help is what matters most.
Otto Knudsen, New Orleans, LA (Sent May 25, 2006 6:39:29 AM)
Good Idea Kelly,....Redneck Invasion on Theo...I know he'll be so proud to have us....i'll cook chittlin's in his house!!!....maybe a cabbage too
andy,ms (Sent May 25, 2006 9:47:51 AM)
Andy,
don't forget the grits.
I don't know about everyone else, but I appreciate your sense of humor. What part of Mississippi are you from?
Kelly, Mobile, AL (Sent May 25, 2006 10:28:25 AM)
Booneville, Kelly...north of Tupelo...south of Corinth.....you ever ate a chittlin'?....pretty good....but STINKY when cookin'......COMIN' ta get ya Theo.....dammit!....pickup trucks, beer cans, peeing in da yard....Theo will be SOOO proud he invited us
andy,booneville ms. (Sent May 25, 2006 11:30:46 PM)
GOD HELP US ALL!
I'm a civil servant and I'm finding it hard just thinking about the upcoming H season. I have planned an extended vacation to try to remove myself from what maybe.Our environment will never be the same.Co-workers, family and friends. Everyone has been effected no matter where you lay your head.the traffic,the lines,the trash,the construction,Oh GOD the cost to say the least.Everyone has been affected in one way or another.the humality that people have extended is indescribible.Every member of my family parents,bothers,sister, aunts,uncles,cousins friends have lost their homes and Life as we knew it.
jazzy j,Slidell La (Sent May 31, 2006 1:05:04 PM)
I just want to say that no one can truly appreciate what you all have been through. Your lives have both literally and figuratively been turned upside down. In early May this year our church group went down to help in New Orleans and while pictures in the news have depicted great devastation, I didn't fully appreciate until I saw it for myself. I truly could not believe what I was seeing 9 months after Katrina. I cannot ever imagine going through what you all did. When I came home, I looked at my family and home and tried to imagine what it would be like to endure the utter devastation and still could not wrap my mind around the magnitude. The one thing it did impress upon me is to appreciate what you have-family, friends and a home. While I did feel like we were helping those families whose homes we worked on, I knew from what I saw, our work was only a pin head sized effort compared to all the help and work that was still needed. Having had conversations with some of the families whose homes we worked on as well as neighbors we met who were working on their homes, I still wanted to really understand what happened and the impact to our fellow Americans. I am reading a book The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley which is very well written and includes first hand accounts from those directly affected as well as a tribute to those who really jumped in and helped during the catastrophe. I highly recommend this to anyone who is "tired" of hearing about Katrina. There should be no "tired" comments coming from anyone and while we are miles away up north, it is not acceptable to forget what happened and we really need to continue to do whatever we can to help. Our church group is hoping to go down again in the fall which is when we were advised to do so, but please know to all down south that you continue to be in our thoughts and prayers and you are not forgotten.
Beth, Pennsylvania (Sent May 31, 2006 6:01:14 PM)
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