Psychological damage is expected to surface among those affected by the hurricanes’ wrath, Jizette Heims, counselor for the University counseling center, said.”In relation to the hurricanes, I think a lot of people experience shock,” Heims said. “People experience fear of what’s going to come from (the hurricanes), a lot of depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorders. A lot of those problems are going to come from the hurricanes.”
Daniel Dauterive, mass communications junior from Chalmette, said that he has been affected emotionally because his family lost everything and had to relocate to Baton Rouge due to the storm.
“My family lost everything, so they’re kind of not doing too well right now,” Dauterive said. “It’s been kind of emotional (because I) worry about my family. I’m fine, but as far as my family is concerned, it’s not too well on me.”
In a column on aaets.org, Mark Lerner, president of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, stated that as traumatic events become more severe, and as people get physically closer to them, the likelihood for traumatic stress becomes greater.
“When people face a traumatic event, some experience ’emotional shock,'” Lerner said. “They’re anxious, nervous and sometimes even panicky while others feel nothing. Both reactions are very common and very normal.”
“As far as the eating goes, it’s just like if somebody was depressed or stressed out. They might eat too much or not enough,” Heim said. “The same symptoms a person gets in relation to stress can happen. A person can lose a lot of weight or gain a lot of weight, get acne (and have) hair fall out.”
Hurricane victims are also likely to experience denial. According to Lerner, denial is a mechanism that prevents people from feeling too much too quickly.
Not all of the psychological problems that occur are permanent. The more a person can get back to a normal state of living, the better off he or she will be, according to Heim.
“The longer they stay in the shelters and out of some type of normalcy, the more traumatized they’ll be,” Heim said. “Stress is one of the big things. Depression (is also common). People have lost homes, jobs and things like that.”
According to Lerner, common reactions experienced in response to traumatic exposure include emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physiological responses. All of these responses include shock, anger, grief, lowered self-efficacy, non-communication, regressive behaviors, erratic movements, elevated blood pressure, fatigue and hyperventilation.
“Sometimes people think that they’re not normal because they’re experiencing those things,” Heim said. “But they are normal.”
Heim said that the counseling center tried to begin support groups for hurricane victims, but there was not a big response. A walk-in policy has been created for victims of the hurricane, and there has been a great reaction to that within the last two weeks.
“We’ve been getting a lot of people for individual counseling,” Heim said. “Even if (students) don’t have an appointment, we will try to accommodate them. We’ve seen some students from New Orleans and a few students who have been displaced.”
There are several things that hurricane victims can do in order to cope with his or her situation, Heim said.
“It depends on the severity of your situation,” she said. “You’ve got to take care of yourself, first of all. Eating enough, personal hygiene, as much as you can do that’s normal. Seek professional help if you need it, whether it be counseling or any other type of assistance.
