BP Oil Spill Trauma May Lead to Mental Health Issues

[Ben Lahnger]

Ben - First, I'm relaying a little bit of info I got from the ABC World News television broadcast this evening, in my own words and with commentary, then I'll post the article this headline refers to.

The BP Oil spill is stressing Gulf Coast communities in a way no hurricane could ever do. Stan Wright, the Mayor of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, says Police calls and complaints are up 110% ... and domestic violence calls are up 320%. No booms, no skimmers, no caps or relief wells can ease the kinds of hidden damage this tragedy is causing.

One month ago 20-year veteran charter fisherman Captain William Allen-Kruse was interviewed by ABC news about being forced to take a job as one of BP's clean-up workers. He indicated in that interview that his favorite activity was taking families out on fishing expeditions, and that he missed it terribly. Yesterday he was found dead with a gun on board his boat, having succumbed to suicide.

Authorities are worried that this could become a trend. Unlike a hurricane which strikes and then moves on, leaving people to quickly move to thinking about rebuilding, with this oil spill there is no end in sight and no time-line for when people can start rebuilding their lives.

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BP Oil Spill Trauma May Lead to Mental Health Issues
Economic Impact, Loss of Livelihood Take Psychological Toll, Doctors Say

SOURCE

By SARAH NETTER and DAN CHILDS
GRAND ISLE, La., June 21, 2010

On the streets of Grand Isle, La., Maryal Mewherter hands out hope.

Mewherter, who works with the Catholic Charities Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, has been giving out $100 food vouchers for use at the local Sureway grocery store. The vouchers are from BP; they are for struggling families whose income was shut off or stunted by the oil spill, which began nearly two months ago with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform.

Weeks ago, Mewherter said, the residents coming to her for help made up a slow trickle. Now, every day brings a steady stream of people.

"From what we heard, they were hoping that this would come and go in a week or two and things were going to go back to normal," she said. "But things didn't go back to normal yet. ... From what I can see I think people are still in denial about what's really happening or they really don't know."

As the reality of the spill sinks in, however, Mewherter fears that it may be difficult for many residents to adjust to the turmoil that the disaster has brought to the region, including loss of jobs and livelihood, a concern shared by psychologists who cite the possible mental health repercussions.

"This is where they grew up, this is where they lived all these years, this is their way of life," she said. "And they're not wanting to give that up."

Grand Isle BP spokesman Curtis Thomas said, "They are angry, they are mad."

His company, he said, has been a lightning rod for people's anger and frustration, as it now finds itself imposing beach and fishing restrictions and bringing in waves of outsiders for relief and other efforts.

Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said the local government is doing what it can to boost morale. "We take it one day at a time and tell people to stay strong," he said.

Still, he said, it is a challenge. Camardelle said he is trying to create summer jobs for teens to earn a bit of spending money and give them something to do, now that the accident has disrupted their lives. But as the oil continues to spill, opportunities, it seems, have dried up.

"There's really nothing to do" on the island, he said. "It puts a burden on the families."

Oil Spill May Lead to Hardship, Emotional Problems

Psychologists say the economic and psychological burdens of the spill could lead to mental health issues for some Gulf shore residents.

"Most people who are severely affected will experience some emotional distress," said Dr. Carol North, director of the Program in Trauma and Disaster at the Dallas VA Medical Center. "This may involve anger or denial ... as well as a range of emotions such as disbelief, sadness, or grief over losses. Also, ability to sleep and appetite may be affected for a period of time among people who are very upset."

Louisiana residents, of course, are no strangers to adversity. Many of the same residents affected by the spill today were also affected by Hurricane Katrina when it rolled through in 2005.

"In many respects, having gone through a prior trauma can cut two ways," said Dr. Craig Katz, supervising psychiatrist for the WTC Medical Monitoring Program in New York. "Prior traumas can be thought of as a way of building up 'tough hands.' Other people might be rendered more vulnerable by a prior trauma."

Separating these two groups of people, he said, is the challenge when it comes to getting mental health services to those who need them the most. He said that one good approach would be to find the people who had experienced psychological consequences from Katrina and monitor them for psychological problems with this disaster.

Another challenge, he said, will be to make the best use of community resources. In short, he said, this is not a problem that psychiatrists can solve with antidepressants alone.

"This is not going to be just, 'What symptoms do you have?'" he said. "As an economic disaster, we will really need to focus on [residents'] purpose and identity."

If there is a silver lining, some psychological experts said, it is that the vast majority of those affected by the BP disaster have not suffered the loss of loved ones and other traumatic events.

"The present oil spill differs from the other disasters such as Katrina or 9/11 in that this tragic event occurred far away from the population centers and has not caused death and destruction of the magnitude we are familiar with in the case of other disasters," said Dr. Arshad Husain, director of the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. "However, the threat is slowly creeping towards the coast like a slowly spreading cancer."

Oil Spill Differs From Past Disasters, Psychologists Say

Husain said the psychological effects of those who did not witness or lose loved ones in the explosion of the oil rig will be much different from those who have been more indirectly affected by the spill , such as those who have lost their jobs and way of life.

"This group has not lost any loved one or received personal injuries," he said. "Their dwellings and personal properties are not destroyed. Their recovery will depend on how well they are compensated for the loss of their income and how quickly they re-establish their businesses. ... This group, in my opinion, is at lower risk than the first group of having serious emotional reactions."

Making Things Right May Help Healing

North said a major determinant of longer lasting mental health effects in the area will be how quickly the issues surrounding the spill can be solved.

"Of course, the best safeguard is to prevent damages to people's lives and the environment," North said. "Rapid and full restoration of the damages and financial restitution of losses is very helpful for emotional recovery. Perceptions of unfairness and perceived lack of concern for the welfare of those highly affected may be linked to negative emotional responses to the situation."

In the meantime, she said, offering a helping hand may help some cope.

"It should not be forgotten ... that people tend to be resilient by nature, and people helping one another in the face of hardship and tragedy can help reduce the emotional toll."

[ape descendant]

hmm...................

[Renatus]

Are the British still complaining about what this is doing to their pensions?

[Still Jack]

Well, the British economy isn't fucked enough already....

[JCC]

Originally Posted by Renatus

Are the British still complaining about what this is doing to their pensions?

Fuck off, there's a good lad.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Renatus

Are the British still complaining about what this is doing to their pensions?

First, just about everybody in the world is worried about their own money right now, and that's understandable. Americans that have invested in BP are worried about their own pensions for that matter.

Second, BP already stated publicly that even before this disaster they were considering it unlikely that dividends were going to be paid out this year because of the economic downturn.

Third, this flap already died down in Britain ... what, a week or two ago. Way to be behind the times.

Finally, I think JCC eloquently dealt with your insensitivity.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

First, just about everybody in the world is worried about their own money right now, and that's understandable. Americans that have invested in BP are worried about their own pensions for that matter.

Second, BP already stated publicly that even before this disaster they were considering it unlikely that dividends were going to be paid out this year because of the economic downturn.

Third, this flap already died down in Britain ... what, a week or two ago. Way to be behind the times.

Finally, I think JCC eloquently dealt with your insensitivity.

Actually it was simply a question, because I had no idea. Best way for me to find out would be for me to simply ask, which I did.

[Ben Lahnger]

Well you got an answer, of the same type and tone, from several people.

Make of that what you will.

[Ben Lahnger]

Some you-are-there reporting by Kindra Arnesan ... if you want to get a sense of what it's like on the ground on the Louisiana coastline, and if you want an insight into how BP and the government partners working with BP are really handling the Gulf oil spill cleanup.

Kindra Arnesan at the Gulf Emergency Summit - Quoted on PBS Newshour 6/23/2010

Kindra may be the next Karen Silkwood. She's worth a few minutes of your time; give her a listen, please.

[Ben Lahnger]

I was looking for a transcript from the video and I did find a couple of quotes from it. Here is some of what Kindra Arnesan said in that video:

"I was invited the following week to go behind 'enemy lines.' They gave me, of all people, security clearance to go into the base of operations meetings in Venice, Louisiana eight days in. Open door invitation to sit like a fly on the wall. Can you believe it? It’s really going on. They also gave me security clearance to go up to the Homer Incident Command Post which is over the entire region of Louisiana. I’ve been in Coast Guard planes all the way out to the site itself. Helicopters. Boat rides. I have been everywhere that anybody could ever want to go to get an inside look at what’s really going on. …

about a week and half in, I learned what 'ponies and balloons' meant. 'Ponies and balloons' means that every time an official is headed anywhere near here, they get a heads up.. All assets are deployed into the hardest hit areas. The official comes in, flies over, 'good job, fellas' (waves), pats ‘em on the back. When that official disappears out of the hardest hit area, so does 75%-80% of the response.

It’s happening. It’s happening every day. I’m watching it. I’ve seen it. I don’t agree with it. Anyone in this room’s not gonna agree with it. Anyone in our great nation’s not gonna agree with it.

We are expendable to these people. We do not matter."

and ...

"I look over the Gulf and I notice that there’s big swarms of birds. That’s not unusual. I figured they was diving on bait. But what where they diving into oil sheen? Because birds don’t know any better. We’re driving out towards the birds. I wanted to see what they were diving into. I wanted to know. As we get out to the birds, I don’t know if you’ve been out on the water much, if you’ve seen a big school of fish. They have like a boil on the water. It looks like a pot boiling. The fish boil the water with their moves. As we drove into it, there was big Bull Reds (Bull Mouths?) with their mouths on top of the water , laying sideways , swimming upside down in a circle. Again, hundreds of thousands of them, school after school after school. They were dying. They were so disoriented that they were running into the side of my boat."

The whole 15 minute video is worth watching.

[CptSternn]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Third, this flap already died down in Britain ... what, a week or two ago. Way to be behind the times.

I wouldn't say it has died down that much - many of the rags are still running stories attacking America, claiming Americans are 'racist', and yes, even politicians there are hopping on board to support breaking ties with America.