 "Photo: Charles Cima")
NEW ORLEANS - Flashbacks are part of people's lives. People treasure flashbacks as time goes by, but what happens when the flashback is from an unwanted event such as a hurricane?
Dianne Nzinga said she is trying to rebuild to get back to her house on Michoud Boulevard where she lived for 27 years.
"I thought I'd be back in three days," Nzinga said four months later.
Cheryl Gore said, "I cried" after seeing her business trailer park destroyed in Sabine Pass. "The trailers were like smashed together."
Claire Assavedo, a resident from St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans, said, "Our entire parish was flooded."
How people recover from a hurricane depends on how psychologically healthy they are, psychotherapist Faye Lafluer said.
A psychologically healthy person would be a person who has problems but does not let the problems bother him while accomplishing normal tasks such as working, Lafluer said.
When a person lets problems take over a routine, the person suffers psychologically because problems will be the person's priority and not what needs to be accomplished, Lafluer explained.
"We are a little bit neurotic," Lafluer said, adding this is a normal situation as long as problems do not interfere with lifestyle.
Angie Rigney, supervisor of adult services of the mental health center in Metairie, La., said many people needing counseling have different symptoms.
Sometimes people have early wake-ups, flashbacks of the hurricane and anxiety.
Families grieve over their loss of homes, and the fear of being displaced results in an anxiety about living in the unknown, Lafluer said, adding some people ended up in an environment different from where they used to live.
Dr. Anthony Speier said people get depressed when talking about a plan of recovery because they have to ponder the situation they are living in.
Speier is director of the Louisiana Spirit, a counseling program funded by FEMA through the Louisiana Office of Mental Health.
The name Louisiana Spirit came up as the strength of individuals emerged after the hurricane. "It was a name that embodied the strength of citizens," Speier said. "The focus was to help people."
The Louisiana Spirit provides counseling and psychological first aid to people but not clinical services.
The process starts with people addressing basic needs, such as when people will be receiving their next meal, Speier said, noting people get depressed in uncertain times.
Louisiana Spirit focuses on recuperating stability and control, going back to a pre-disaster status and helping people deal with the loss of family members.
The program has about 560 crisis counselors trained with good communication skills in brief counseling and anxiety disorder.
The counselors are divided in teams of 10 and paired up to start visiting people living in FEMA trailers by doing a door-to-door outreach, Speier said.
The Louisiana Spirit organizes community activities to bring people together and inspire people, such as meeting to share survivor experiences Some depressing moments may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition characterized by recurring and, often, disabling symptoms of anxiety and depression that later affect some people who have experienced a traumatic event or situation.
Depression and substance abuse can be symptoms, and people might experience only one syndrome while others can have overlapping syndromes, Dr. Lee Tynes said.
Tynes, medical director for Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority, said after the hurricane the clinic's staff members started seeing 50 to 75 patients a day.
Some people already had traumatic experiences, and the hurricane made them worse, Tynes said. Some who never sought care before are coming to the clinic.
"Our mission is taking care of people with mental health disorder," Tynes said.
Tynes estimates about 170,000 new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder cases will develop in the next two years.
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