From the June 17, 2010, NYT article by Mireya Navarro.
“It’s the fear of losing everything,” said Representative Anh Cao, a Republican from New Orleans who has assembled a response team to travel along the Gulf Coast to assess constituents’ needs. Mr. Cao said he had met two fishermen in Plaquemines Parish who told him they were contemplating suicide. While those cases are “extreme,” Mr. Cao said, they reflect how some people “are approaching a point of despair.”
Officials with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said staff members had counseled 749 people in the last week of May and the first week of June to “mitigate” symptoms that could lead to destructive behavior.
This is one of those articles that in the past, I would have read, then dismissed the mental health impact as no news, totally understandable.
Researchers who studied the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill said coastal residents of Alaska saw a higher incidence of suicide, divorce, domestic violence and substance abuse. To this day, many are still dealing with the effects of the environmental damage, economic losses and lawsuits.
Crises like the BP oil spill are inevitable in life, and often totally beyond our ability to influence or control. If we saw a therapist as often as we see a dentist, then in times of crisis, we will already have a relationship with someone we trust, who can help.
Bim Kimzey, June 20, 2010
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