The oil spill ravaging the Gulf of Mexico has inflicted widespread psychological distress among coastal residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. An Ochsner Health System survey of the four-state area is the first to measure the mental health impacts of the April 20 explosion aboard BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
According to survey results, this catastrophe is etching scars even deeper than those whipped by Hurricane Katrina. Three in every 10 people surveyed suffer from “probable serious” or “probable mild-moderate” mental illness, based on the K6 psychological distress scale.
Younger and financially vulnerable respondents are at greatest peril for negative mental health effects due to the spill, which has fouled fishing grounds, beaches and wetlands by gushing more than 92 million gallons into the Gulf, based on federal estimates.
“You can scrub the sand, and you can skim the sea,” said Dr. Joseph E. Bisordi, M.D., FACP, Ochsner’s chief medical officer, “But psychological pain sinks much deeper. It will stay embedded in people, unless we give them relief.”
Read the official press release.
Read the research report.
Special thanks to the National Mental Health Association.
Symptoms of distress are not limited to sadness or melancholy. They can include: |
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To read more about depression, stress, anxiety and other psychological distress, please visit our Health Information resource: |
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At Ochsner, we recognize that identifying a health problem is only the first step toward healing. If you or someone you love needs help, please reach out to health providers in your area.
To locate a Ochsner physician in your area, search using Find a Doctor.
For more information about treatment and care options, visit Psychiatry & Mental Health Services at Ochsner.
