A year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, researchers are finding — not surprisingly — that the rate of serious mental illness in areas ravaged by the storm has doubled. A survey of more than a thousand survivors shows that approximately fifteen percent of survivors were diagnosed with a serious mental illness after the storm.
The survey was performed by researchers from Harvard, and appears to be the biggest mental health study done after the devastating hurricane. If the survey results are accurate, we may see as many as two hundred thousand people from the Gulf Coast — including Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi — may be facing serious mental illness thanks to Hurricane Katrina. A third of those will suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome; the other two thirds will struggle with depression.
The hurricane survivors all faced major losses and endured physical adversity and mental trauma. Almost eighty-five percent of people in the survey faced financial, housing, and income losses. A quarter of the survivors surveyed reported nightmares about the experience; for people who lived in New Orleans, fifty percent of survey participants reported nightmares starring Hurricane Katrina.
Despite the rise in serious mental illness, the urge to commit suicide fell. Many survivors credit the strong bonds formed with their loved ones and communities during the hurricane and aftermath. Nearly ninety percent of participants in the study said they felt closer to their families and friends and more connected to their communities after Hurricane Katrina. Survivors felt more religious and that their lives had a deeper sense of meaning or purpose.
The researchers from Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Mental Health plan to keep track of the survey participants, and interview them again over the next seven years to track recovery. Right now, nearly one in four survivors who are living in their pre-hurricane homes are thinking about relocating to another area. What effect will this have on their new bonds with friends, family, and community? Only time will tell.