Damage caused by Hurricane Milton to homes and businesses is still being assessed. The stress of dealing with two major hurricanes and an unprecedented number of tornadoes in just a few weeks has left people in Florida reeling.
Megan Martin, a pediatric emergency room physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, said her home has flooded three times in the past four years, starting with Hurricane Idalia in late August 2023.
“A lot of people are feeling anxiety, stress, with two different storms approaching,” Martin said.
Although her home had survived Milton's devastating floods, she didn't know what to do next.
“I'm exhausted. I’m exhausted,” said Martin, who worked in the hospital’s emergency operations center during the storm. “Of course we have to make some changes, because we cannot take this further. My mental health can’t handle it.”
Stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems often increase after natural disasters as a phenomenon of “normal response to abnormal events”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“These natural disasters are psychologically outside the normal human experience, and this trauma often leads to ongoing mental health problems,” says the psychologist. Associate Doctor at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Michelle Chernikoff, 39, who lives in New Port Richey, Florida, fled Monday with her husband and two young children to her in-laws' home in West Palm Beach after Hurricane Milton ordered a mandatory evacuation.
Hurricane Helen didn't damage her home, but less than five miles away, there was complete devastation. “I didn’t go to bed until the storm passed because I was worried the tree would fall on my bed,” she recalls.
On Thursday, after the Milton area was destroyed, Chernikoff said there were large trees in his neighborhood, “but our house looks fine on cameras.”
“You have this duality of being grateful that it's not you and devastated that it's someone you know is your neighbor down the street,” he said.
More than that 100 catastrophic hurricanes have hit the coast of the Sunshine State in the last century. Continued exposure to hurricanes not only wreaks physical havoc, it can also wreak havoc on your mental health.
Feelings of stress, worry, sadness and anxiety are normal after a disaster, but each person's response can be different and change over time. And it can be especially difficult for children.
Before Milton arrived Wednesday night, Rita Simmons, 46, who lives in Pinellas County on Florida's west coast, was preparing “for the unknown” in her home with her husband, two daughters and her husband. 77 years old. mother
“I cried in the middle of Publix,” she said, describing her feelings of guilt toward her children at the supermarket before the storm.
They were trying to hide the girls' fear, even though she was already dealing with increasing anxiety after Helen's heartbreak at the flooded and destroyed local beach.
“Our 6-year-old is scared, so we let him set up a special area just for him with books, snacks and flashlights,” Simmons said.
Her husband, who was born in Florida and has lived through several major hurricanes, tried to calm his family's fears.
“These are events that you really need to experience to know how you will react and how your mental health will be affected,” she said.
Uncertainty can worsen anxiety – especially in those with underlying mental health issues.
Dr. Matt ShannonDirector of Community Emergency Medicine at Florida Health University, “Once we increase uncertainty in patients with underlying mental health issues, we begin to see patients worsen and then end up in acute mental health crises in the department of emergency”.
Over the past 10 years of practice, Shannon said, he has seen more patients with chronic anxiety — often triggered by events that patients feel are beyond their control, such as family and work pressures or the prospect of harsh tropical weather.
Saltz of New York-Presbyterian says that people initially experience an “acute stress response,” which can include:
- Depressed or anxious mood.
- Avoid anything that resembles a thunderstorm.
- sleep problems
- Constant numbness or tingling in the extremities.
- Difficulty concentrating or not liking something.
- Have intrusive disturbing memories of the event or later.
“These symptoms can last up to a month, but if left untreated, some of those affected by the hurricane will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which includes all of these symptoms on an ongoing basis,” he said.
Simmons, who has weathered multiple hurricanes and has multiple medical issues, including generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, notes, “Hurricanes exacerbate our anxiety and fear.”
'Feelings of helplessness'
Shannon is particularly concerned about patients in isolated rural areas who may arrive very sick, with their natural resources depleted because they are isolated from their communities.
Hurricane Helen also added stress to other vulnerable populations, such as hospitalized patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Michael Warren, 34, and his wife Kelly Warren, 33, grew up in Florida.
Their yard and backyard in Sarasota suffered debris from Hurricane Helen, but their parents' house in Clearwater received two feet of water.
Several weeks ago, Warren was diagnosed with acute leukemia and is currently undergoing induction chemotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
“It's definitely a helpless feeling when you're stuck in a hospital,” Michael said.
His wife was devastated by the news of Hurricane Milton.
“I started crying because it’s too much,” Kelly said.
Ongoing depression, anxiety caused by thunderstorms
It's normal to feel overwhelmed immediately after a hurricane, but it's a warning sign when persistent symptoms of depression or difficulty concentrating or an inability to think about anything else affect daily activities, experts say. People affected by trauma are at greater risk for alcohol or substance abuse.
“High irritability is also a symptom, and if left untreated, anger and violence can occur,” adds Saltz.
Symptoms can last for years, although children, the elderly and first responders may be most at risk after a flood. Research shows.
Mental health experts encourage people who need to speak to someone on the crisis line to contact a trained counselor. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) We recommend calling or texting 1-800-985-5990 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
While at the hospital, Martin engages with his patients to make them feel like “we’re all in this together.”
