Anxiety attacks, clinical depression on the rise in N.O.LA area

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL060806tpdepression.67eb96d4.html

In the New Orleans area, there are reported increases in drug and alcohol abuse, divorce, domestic violence and suicide, despite a sharp drop in population. City police officers – one in five was recently diagnosed with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder – say they are handling more calls involving mental patients who are "off their meds."

-snip-

"The city is still pretty destroyed," said Dr. Janet Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at Tulane University. "I do think everyone in New Orleans has undergone significant stress and continues to. It's difficult to live here. I am seeing depression just among family and friends and everyday people you run into."

Local psychiatrist Deagan Dansereau put it this way: "Living in New Orleans right now is a risk factor for depression and anxiety."

-snip-

Psychologist Linda Floyd says officials and the news media need to take care not to foster a "collective panic" at the first sign of a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. And Dr. Brobson Lutz, a former city health director, warns that too many evacuations can promote "hurricane fatigue," leaving the public too exhausted to flee actual danger.

Maybe coming to a place near you soon.

Disgusting what this administration has allowed to occcur. FUCKING DISGUSTING!

by the Bush administration. There is no other way to say it. While it's true that Bush couldn't have prevented a hurricane, but we know now that he had enough warning on the severity of the storm, and the concerns about the levees breaking, and should have already had help ready to respond. Instead, incredibly, he and the other senior administration officials went about their personal lives, and he ate birthday cake, played air guitar, and otherwise did pretty much nothing.

We watched in horror as people clung to rooftops, waiting for help. We saw the scene at the Super-dome, as chaos prevailed, and people died. Offers of aid were actually turned down, a fact which nobody has been able to explain to me. After the storm was over, there would still have been time to salvage something of the city, if only the administration had kept the promises Bush made on one of his many photo-ops there, the one where he stood outside, bathed in an eerie blue light.

True to form, the same old crony companies, like Halliburton, were awarded millions of dollars to screw up reconstruction, and abandon the citizens of New Orleans again to an uncaring government. Bush will willingly take your tax dollars, unless you're rich, and willingly let your sons and daughters die in an illegal war which is sucking up money that could have been used to rebuild New Orleans, instead of destroy Iraq, but if you need help, too bad, you're on your own. If your bootstraps hadn't washed out to sea in the storm, you could have used them to pull yourself up with.

This whole shameful episode has pointed out, yet again, that Bush's priorities are for policies which enrich he and his have mores, and the rest of us are good for nothing but working to enrich them, and suppling bodies to fight for Halliburton. I live north of Houston and have seen many reports of tension or outright violence between kids from New Orleans, and kids from Houston. One group felt resentment at having the burden of extra guests, while the other group sensed the resentment, and felt unwanted and abandoned by everybody.

Some people still have family members missing, and bodies keep being found. This is one of the most shameful things I've ever heard of, to have a beautiful, major city ignored and abandoned, while the president continues destroying and destabilizing the Middle East, and bankrupting our country. Lately, we hear that the most important issue facing America today is gay marriage. Imagine how that must make citizens of NOLA feel, as their city lies in ruins, they face the loss of everything they have ever had, and a grim future.

As far as people who are feeling "Katrina fatigue", from hearing about it...try putting yourself in their shoes by living it. Incredible that even 33% of the country believe that Lord Pissypants will protect us from terrorists, he can't even find a way to help New Orleans back on it's feet. If I were in the place of the storm victims, I don't know if I could cope, either. They have suffered so much, and continue to suffer, and it's a crime that the government can't do a better job of helping them.

your post eloquently expresses what so many of us are feeling. I am originally from New Orleans, and moved to Houston in 2001. Many of my friends came to stay with us after Katrina, for a month and a half. They have gone back now, but at least one has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. All my former neighbors have their homes for sale. They are leaving. They went back with high hopes for rebuilding. However, it has proved harder than they imagined to just live an ordinary daily life. Noone is sure about their jobs. Noone has come forth with a definite rebuilding plan. Many businesses are closed and will not reopen. Its a far different landscape, in many ways, than when I lived there 5 short years ago. And I grew up there, so hearing these stories just makes my heart break....

I honestly think some people are still repressing some stuff, and have focused all their energy on rebuilding. I fear that once the tropical storms start up, it's going to regurgitate some ugly, ugly stuff in people, they didn't even know was there.

I know a few people who were diagnosed with PTSD. One who was stuck in Tulane Hospital the whole time, and didn't even know what had happened until she was helicoptered out of the building, and all she saw below her was water, and everything that was floating in it.

I still don't get the feeling that anyone really knows just how bad it is. If they did, there would be a multi-million man march, government would shut down until some real work started to get done.

Anyone with any real power want to touch this subject?
Reid?
Pelosi?
Obama?
Feingold?
Hillary?
Bueller?

Going through this, even on the periphery, is like being stuck in a bad dream where somebody kills or kidnaps everyone you know, sets fire to your home, and when you try to tell someone, no one can hear you.

Or maybe after screaming at a bunch of people who treat you like you're invisible, every now and then, someone stops to tell you it's your fault.

I'm not saying this to be a jerk, and be unnecessarily hard on Democrats, but which prominent Democrats have done anything of any significance to help N.O.? Howard Dean has, but he doesn't hold an office. Kerry has spoken out on this, but what has anyone really DONE about it?

I feel like the entire city of New Orleans was swiftboated, and now since it is so tainted, no Democrats with any kind of power want to touch it, for fear that they'll turn off white America by looking like they're giving handouts to a bunch of "looters".

As we begin hurricane season, and the temperature starts to take us back to last year, watch the panic attacks and PTSD shoot through the roof. Especially for those still vulnerable to the storm.

This is a nightmare. An absolute fucking nightmare. People aren't saying New Orleans was great, just to be nice. Maybe it's because most tourists never leave the French Quarter that no one seems to understand. This was the only American city that hadn't been swallowed by corporatism. They did not allow big box retail to build. The architecture was amazing. The food, music, people, and culture are all so unique, there's no place like it in the world. It's the birthplace of multiculturalism, jazz, and a wonderful clash of so many great cultures.

This past nine months has been like watching this administration take turns raping your mother in broad daylight, and when you scream for help, absolutely no one can hear you as they walk right by. Yeah, I'm pretty fucking depressed.

for me. Which is probably pretty unhealthy but I go from being incredibly excited about the rebuilding process of my home to being terribly frustrated and downright pissed off!

It's been hell, honestly. And I'm probably one of the lucky ones. Fairly well insured (although they still find ways to stick it to us).

The process is unbelievably slow. If someone had told us all that 9-10 months later we'd be where we are today, how many of us would have toughed it out? I love this city and don't want to leave but had I known what I was in for, I may have made a different decision.

We hope to move back into our unfinished home in a couple of weeks. We'll probably be working on it for another 6 months at least. We work all week and after work hours and during the weekend we work on the house...there is no end in sight.

:(

:hug:

Will I ever wake up from this nightmare?

I'm tired of being tired.

:hug:

I know that one.

in such pain. And need help and immediate leadership and even the perception that "it would be okay". WH totally missed that. Unlike any other leader. It was terrible to watch what was happening in New Orleans by day 3. And remains horrible to watch Washington.

Anxiety and depression are mounting in areas where *'s policies have wasted American job opportunities. Also, the cost of education is mounting as fast as healthcare premiums.
With it being a toss up if inflation or high interest rates will kill what's left of consumer confidence and/or overall productivity, what's a body to do????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Leaving on a jet plane.......

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