"From the beginning everybody recognized how big this is and that it had major potential impacts because the shrimping season was just about to begin," she said. "Then, as it went on, we started seeing businesses fail and tourism take a hit because people weren't coming because of their perceptions of what it would be like here. Then when the tourists didn't come, restaurants and other businesses began to suffer. Listening to them agonize about if they'll be able to stay in business is a very painful process. I know fishermen in Louisiana who are in fear that their entire way of life is ending. How to you respond to that? How do you give them hope or something to hold onto? So basically what I do is listen. A lot."
Dr. Ladd cites current examples of what Dr. Podesta refers to as "re-stimulating" stressors in people affected by this disaster. "The exact same phrases that BP are using come right out of the playbook of what Exxon used 21 years ago. Right now, looking at the parallels between the spill in Cordova and what we see now in the Gulf, a lot of similar patterns are starting to emerge. You've got levels of psychological stress and anxiety affecting a significant minority of the population. As the litigation of the impacts grow, that's going to increase. For example, Picou found this last year when he was back in Cordova, that so many had to leave because they were economically displaced - the fishing industry was destroyed, the herring industry was destroyed, the pink salmon runs have never come back of course. All the other marine impacts that you're seeing here - sea birds, turtles, sharks, every day this stuff is in the paper. Not withstanding all those wildlife impacts and ecological effects, the stress impacts, still, they found in Cordova are at a sub-clinical level. PTSD, which is the equivalent in stress to rape and murder experiences, they are still finding that level of anxiety affecting somewhere between 30 to 35 percent of the Cordova population."
Dr. McIntosh told Truthout she is concerned about the long-term psychological impacts of this disaster. "That is what I'm concerned most about because anytime you're under long term stress, whether it's economic, you're losing your home or boat and your business, then those translate into experiences of depression, increased family chaos, increased difficulty with interpersonal relationships and a decrease in self-efficacy that I can take care of myself and my family. There is anger that exists throughout our region and it's an anger of feeling betrayed by those who were in charge, that they didn't make sure there were legitimate steps taken to respond to this."
Dr. McIntosh explained the complexity Gulf Coast residents face with the BP disaster and how the complexity of their proximity to the Gulf of Mexico causes them stress yet also provides strength. "This spill has affected everyone along the Gulf Coast. We all value the natural beauty of our coast and the connection with nature. We're moved by the site of brown pelicans. We laugh with joy when we see the dolphins playing off the boat in the Mississippi Sound. There is something so special about our connection to our Gulf that links everything - our livelihoods, our sense of connectedness, our spiritual awareness and this disaster has just taken away the sureness that everyone would wake up and it would be there. And that uncertainty and experience has been across the board. That will go with us whatever the trajectory is for the rest of our lives."
She feels people's resilience will play a key role in
the future. "Gulf Coast residents are very resilient people, but this
is one more big test of that resilience and you get weary of sucking it
up one more time. Having to summon from within yourself the will to
persevere through yet another catastrophe and this one, there's been
levels of disconnect from communication, trying to figure out who was in
charge, how to connect to a way to get reimbursed for your losses, it's
again been that same difficulty with communication that increases
frustration and decreases the sense of self-efficacy. I can't move
beyond the fact that this is also my experience. The sadness, the
connection I have to the Gulf. Yet, also the sheer awe I have at the
strength of our people to keep on adapting and coping and dealing with
one thing after another. It leaves me amazed. While I know we're going
to have psychological decay, I see the strength and ability to persevere
that is often easy to overlook."
Dr. Ladd believes recovery from the BP oil disaster will take decades.
"We need to stop thinking of this as a sprint and think of it as a
marathon. This disaster and its impacts are going to go on for at least a
decade and it could be more. It's hard to put into words the
astronomical ways in which this disaster is likely to affect the Gulf
Coast."
He underscores how the court battles that are sure to span years, if not decades, will negatively affect people. "The litigation process is a key source of stress, anxiety and one of the key economic expenditures of the people affected, who already are short on money. Exxon had very deep pockets and said from the very beginning they would not pay a penny of that judgment unless they had to. Despite all the PR about "making you whole," they said very clearly and publicly and not just in court to the lawyers, that we will not pay a penny of this judgment if we can prevent it. BP hasn't started saying that yet because it's far too early."
Dr. Riki Ott is a marine biologist, toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor from Cordova, Alaska. She told Truthout that when companies like Exxon/Mobile or BP tell people, "we will make you whole" it really means, "We'll see you in court."
Dr. Ott provided figures about how severely people in her community were initially affected from the 1989 disaster. "In our communities in Alaska that were affected by the Exxon Valdez disaster, we had 99 percent increase in PTSD, 99 percent increase in anxiety disorder, 99 percent increase in depression," she explained.
Dr. Ladd is deeply concerned about the negative, long lasting affects of this disaster on coastal communities. "We all have a point where it's very tough to swallow and comprehend the enormity of the risks that we've created for ourselves. This is a very real problem and even happens with educators, scientists and certainly with Gulf Coast residents. It's like watching the death of a loved one for a lot of people. I have the deepest sympathy for the fishermen here. Can you imagine New Orleans without oysters? It's as central to our way of life as salmon is to the Northwest. But here we are. A lot of people are at their wits end."
He feels a key problem is that this disaster creates a series of tipping points where the impacts in the marine ecology bleed into the economic, social and psychological realms. This creates, according to Dr. Ladd, "A trickle up and trickle down set of impacts that chronically keep multiplying into themselves. Look at Alaska, people are still reeling with anxiety, grief and denial from what happened in 1989. We need to know what happened in Alaska to prepare ourselves for and anticipate even greater impacts here in the Gulf."
Dr. Ladd is not hopeful about what he sees. "Are we going to wake up in time to grasp the enormity of this disaster so that we can grapple with it accordingly and what we've got to do to prevent it in the future? I'm not feeling real sanguine at the moment about the possibilities of that happening anytime soon."
Dr. McIntosh, on the other hand, believes people's resiliency coupled with community strength will play a key role in the recovery effort. "Along the coast some of our networks are training peer listeners so people have someone to talk to in order to make meaning of what they are experiencing and to decrease the stress," she said.
Dr. Podesta feels that more political attention and funding needs to be aimed at mental health for those affected by the BP oil disaster, in addition to bringing justice to those responsible for creating the crisis. "Mental health needs to be part of the human rights we're seeking assistance for," she said. "We need to talk about mental health as what we're advocating for along with the other things that whoever is responsible for all of this needs to be held accountable."
Dr. Johnson, after explaining that claims made to BP will not include mental health claims, said that she is advocating a more community based mental health support system, but that this will require funding that Louisiana's Governor Jindal, President Obama or BP appear, thus far, unwilling to provide. "There's going to be a need for more money for more mental health services, but where will that come from?" she asked. "We all know it's a problem, but we're usually the first ones to get cut when it comes to funding. Over the past five years it's become more prevalent here, more publicized, Katrina de-stigmatized mental health treatment because everybody was stressed out, but at the same time they keep cutting services. The awareness is not accompanied by real action or dollars. People talk about the mental health effects, but they don't want to put their money where their mouth is."
Dr. Ladd speaks to this as well. "Note the stories in the news about trying to get mental health funding for this expected jump in PTSD among coastal residents. The experience we know from studying other technological disasters, that's probably going to not only be well needed, but probably inadequate."
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