Ya think?
Interesting article forwarded to the New Orleans blogging community from the BBC. No wonder we live in what’s likely the most medicated city in the US these days….
Hurricane Katrina was the most significant natural
disaster to strike the United States. Thousands of
people were exposed to destruction, human violence and
desperate circumstances. Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) was likely to be a significant medical
issue in the aftermath of Katrina.
In a paper to be presented at the 2007 Society for
Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting,
Professor Lisa D. Mills, MD, Director, Section of
Emergency Medicine Ultrasound, Louisiana State
University at New Orleans, will show that PTSD was
diagnosed in over 38% of the people who came to an
interim Emergency Department facility in New Orleans.
This is more than ten times higher than the 3.6%
prevalence in the general US population. Loss of a
loved one and simply staying in New Orleans during the
storm were associated with PTSD symptoms.
Commenting on this study, Dr. Peter DeBlieux, MD,
Director of Emergency Services at Louisiana State
University in New Orleans, states, “The incidence of
PTSD in our population post-Katrina reported in this
research study is noteworthy and worth following as
recovery efforts move forward. The prevalence cited in
this study is not alarming to those professionals
caring for patients who have been traumatized by the
storm and challenged by the recovery efforts.”
The magnitude and duration of even a single mental
health care diagnosis after this disaster demonstrates
the need for long term, coordinated mental health
response as part of disaster relief. Interim or
temporary mental health response is not adequate for
this population.
The presentation is entitled “Prevalence of
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Hurricane
Katrina” by Lisa D. Mills MD and Trevor J. Mills MD.
This paper will be presented at the 2007 SAEM Annual
Meeting, May 16-19, 2007, Chicago, IL on Friday, May
18th, in the Psychiatry poster session beginning at
9:00 AM in the River Exhibition Hall A & B of the
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. Abstracts of the
papers presented are published in Volume 14, Issue 5S,
the May 2007 supplement of the official journal of the
SAEM, Academic Emergency Medicine.
_______________________________________________
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Maybe that explains why some days I just feel like shit….I need to get me some of those mood management drugs. Probably should have months ago actually.
Headline on nola.com reads:
“Nagin demands mental health services from Blanco”
It’s about time that guy got some help, but I don’t think she’s going to be able to fix him.
If we were smart we would have been throwing prozac from mardi gras floats for the last two years. I mean seriously, who in this city is NOT self-medicating?
Prozac is my new best friend. NO joke. After spending 2 months on the couch drowning myself in rum and vodka…I finally went to the doc… it took trying one med which did NOT work…then switching to prozac. It’s obviously still not perfect, but at least I am functioning. And every day gets a lil bit better.
The fact that we are starting a new endeavor is keeping my brain and body busy…THAT is also a huge help.
It’s been said before… this ain’t a sprint… it’s a marathon.
TBK
I do feel like I’ve started sort of self-medicating in the last few weeks so I’m going to have to pull back on the reigns and get my focus back. Things just seem to be a little more difficult lately. I have noticed a pattern of drifting into and out of mild depression over the last year and a half, but so far this little bout has been the worst for me I think.
It isn’t everyday or constant by any means; it’s good days and bad days in how I feel. I don’t think it’s all that noticeable of a change from the outside but I can’t be sure of that. I can usually pull myself out of it in a couple of hours or a couple of days but it isn’t easy.
And I’m starting to wonder if, even though I can win those little battles, I’m still losing the war. It’s weird to “just feel like your losing”. To find yourself thinking in abstraction about winning and losing is weird enough. Losing what? I can’t be sure. I know I’m not alone in this feeling since a few people have told me its a big factor in them leaving the city. I’m just not sure that’s the answer to the problem though. I mean the current environment can’t take the blame for everything - I’m at least responsible to some degree for the state of things if only through my own decision making. So whatever part of the problem is me will follow me wherever I go.
But there’s a real good chance I just need to man up and stop being an ass. Taking alcohol (a depressant) out of the equation (at least some) should help give me a better read on what’s going on. That’s probably good advice for everyone in the city right now. The long, hot days of summer are approaching so it’s a good time to drink some Tea and relax in the shade. Everything’s gonna be alright.
Speaking only for me, I’ve found it’s a help to get on the road a little. We’ve spent more time on the road in the past 5-6 months (voluntarily and involuntarily) and I find myself more enthusiastic about living in New Orleans than at any time since Katrina. I guess I’ve needed to be reminded more often about what our city has that others don’t, despite its drawbacks.
For instance, we’re in San Antonio for a couple of days. Delightful. But I’m ready to hit the road back home tomorrow.
Everyone - and I mean everyone - I know in this city is either self-medicating or on anti depressants and/or anti anxiety pills. I cannot think of a single person I know of who isn’t somehow medicated, to a greater or lesser extent. My own psychiatrist is on meds. When I tell friends who live out of state about this, I get the impression they assume I’m exaggerating or else I hang out with a bunch of lifelong drunks. (Not true.) I realized when I came back from my year long exile post-storm that people who maybe were a little unhinged, or else liked to party socially, now were Completely unhinged and daily drinkers/pill takers. And it only took about two weeks for me to fall into the same behavior. After six months of steady self-destruction, I managed to get myself to a shrink and get on some anti anxiety and anti depression drugs. They’ve worked well so far. I hardly drink at all any more; the desire is gone. It seems I was drinking to take the edge off the anxiety. And anxiety floats over and through this city with a heaviness that is difficult to describe if you aren’t living in it. This is a hard city to live in right now. Surely we are all responsible for our own behavior, but the environment in which we live does impact choices we make. I think the key is to recognize that living here is fucking Rough, and everyone is going through a hard time — it’s not an individual fault per se. The conditions we live in here are quite conducive to some self medicating, to say the least. It’s a dangerous slope to start sliding down. I’ve never been big on drugs for moods, but right now I need them. I wish I didn’t but I do.
No, a mood ring works works much bettre’.
Laurie