2006
Katrina PTSD
Seawitch observed something in Xanax Anyone? that I’ve been noticing since Tropical Storm Alberto became strong enough to receive a name. I’ve seen several friends who stayed for Katrina, or even those who bugged out like we did, but who lost everything, show signs of what may well be post traumatic stress disorder. I’m quite familiar with it, having been diagnosed with PTSD and dissociative disorder myself ten years ago. (By God’s mercy, I’m completely better now. But that’s another story.) Even the people like us, who left before the storm and suffered minimal damage - in my case about $15,000 worth - but came back as soon as possible after the storm to get started with the cleanup are more stressed than usual.
When we returned, we spent the first few weeks on what I call The Katrina Diet. A can of vienna sausage or a bit of Spam for breakfast, all day with a chainsaw, clearing debris, with all the Powerade you can drink, and an MRE for dinner. I lost a lot of weight. The destruction was terrible, and yet not even on a scale of what the Gulf Coast endured. A friend of mine left before the hurricane, took almost no part in cleanup immediately after the storm, but her job involves viewing photos and writing up reports about damaged homes. She’s had much higher stress levels because of it.
When Alberto was named, my heart beat a little faster. I immediately checked Weather Underground, which had the most comprehensive information leading up to Katrina, and was glad to see that only the UK Met tracked him coming to LA. And what do the Brits know about hurricanes anyway? They’re British. You want a scones recipe, or an historian, they’re the go-to guys, but tropical weather? I don’t think so. 
This is going to be a very stressful season for a lot of people. The best way to not panic is to prepare. My phase one preparations are complete, and I’ll be writing about the rest soon.
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