At the end of February, Harper Dalton lost practically everything he owned.
His ground-floor house, which he bought in 2020 in South Lismore, was destroyed by flooding following the La Niña extreme weather event.
Now, along with her neighbors and community, she faces financial stress, uncertainty, and mental health impacts of the traumatic period.
“I think the whole town has a collective trauma… I think a lot of people are experiencing PTSD symptoms, and maybe they’re not aware of it,” he says.
“I hear a lot of people say that they used to listen to the noises of the rain and now they couldn’t think of anything more traumatic to do before going to bed.”
Harper Dalton says she believes many residents of Lismore and surrounding areas are experiencing PTSD symptoms following La Niña weather and flooding earlier this year. Font: Supplied / harp dalton
After La Niña, Dalton says his mental health has been increasingly affected by the weather.
“The last two or three weeks, because it rained, I was really cranky and depressed and didn’t want to do anything… and I realized it was because of the rain, and it’s that trigger of ‘oh, okay, it could flood. again.’ It’s just in the back of your brain,” he says.
“Part of me thinks I could deal with moderate flooding, but if we have anything higher than that, that’s my ceiling… I don’t know if I could recover mentally or physically.”
Harper Dalton lost virtually everything she owns in the 2022 floods. Font: Supplied / harp dalton
Last week, the Bureau of Meteorology announced that Australia is likely to experience an unusually wet spring, with a 70 per cent chance of t happening
Earlier this year, record levels of rainfall in NSW led to devastating flooding, the evacuation of thousands of residents from their homes, 13 deaths statewide, and continued uncertainty for communities in and around Lismore and Northern Rivers.
Experts join residents in their concern about the potential mental health impacts of another La Niña event.
Psychiatrist Paul Valent says that after extreme weather events and trauma, people commonly experience shocks such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression.
“There is a wide range of emotional responses, for example shock, disbelief, fear, helplessness and helplessness,” says Dr. Valent.
“It tests the whole person, not only emotionally but also physically and socially, so it’s a psychosocial, cognitive, emotional and existential response.”
Can rain really affect our mental health?
During the colder months, some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which refers to a form of depression triggered by the weather. Symptoms include a feeling of hopelessness, lack of energy, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns.
Professor Kim Fetheringham, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Melbourne, says that while SAD is more common in colder climates with little sunlight, Australia’s humid climate can certainly affect mood and mental health by a myriad of reasons.
“We know that mood is affected by how active you are, how much you engage in going out, doing activities outside the home, socializing, exercising. All of those things can be really limited in bad weather,” she says.
“However, I think that now, given the fear that people now have about the weather … that it rains is a trigger, not only of past trauma, but of the uncertainty of what is going to happen, what is my long-term future? So [that is] actually driving, I think, significant anxiety or a sense of helplessness.
Professor Fetheringham says that natural disasters and extreme weather events can certainly cause significant impacts on the mental health of a considerable number of people.
“Around 10 to 15 percent of people could develop full-blown PTSD, but we shouldn’t ignore it either. [that] in the same way that most people can develop depression [and] generalized anxiety. And if they already have pre-existing mental health issues, they can get significantly worse,” she said.
“I think what’s really important contextually here is the cumulative nature of this trauma. Northern Rivers, Lockyer Valley and Brisbane in the recent past have had significant flooding and natural disasters…so this is another, bigger one, but one that will also add up to a cumulative effect on people’s mental health.”
“People live in chronic uncertainty.”
‘Every time it rains, you’re nervous’
East Lismore resident Crystal Lenane is all too familiar with the trauma and uncertainty associated with extreme weather events.
Despite spending $80,000 to build her home before the floods, Ms. Lenane, along with her husband and two children, had to be rescued by the small brigade. With her house now uninhabitable, she says they have been living in limbo ever since.
The family has moved four times, is currently renting and just bought a caravan to live in temporarily while they weigh their options and wait to hear more about government support or plans.
She has also started counseling and has taken time off work for mental health reasons.
Ms. Lenane says that feelings of stress and anxiety are prevalent in the community after the floods.
“Every time it rains, you’re nervous,” he says.
“Having the uncertainty now as well…every day things are hard. You just don’t have a normal life anymore, and I think a lot of people outside of our community have moved on and forgotten that this is still happening.”
After losing half a million dollars in property value overnight due to flooding, he describes his situation as “overwhelming.”
“I regularly cry to my husband, because he is the only one who understands what our situation is.”
“We want to stay in the community, but I’m getting to the point where… I don’t think I can go through this again.”
‘I can’t deal with another summer of rain’
Georgia Mills recently moved from Wollongong to the Gold Coast, and warmer weather was one factor in their move.
She was not affected by the flooding earlier this year, but regularly experiences bad moods during cold and rainy weather, and says the excessive rain earlier this year took a toll on her mental health.
“The weather really affects my mood a lot,” he said.
Georgia Mills routinely struggles with moodiness during cold, rainy weather, and says the weather was a factor in her decision to move from Wollongong to the Gold Coast. Font: Supplied / georgian mills
“I just can’t function very well when I’m cold… I feel like I can’t be productive, I can’t feel relaxed. I’m extremely tense when I’m cold, and I find that it’s not really me.”
When she learned of the possibility of a third La Niña event, she says she was extremely frustrated.
“I feel like I can’t deal with another summer of rain,” he said.
“I feel much more lethargic and sleepy when it rains. I feel like I can’t go out and expend energy, so I’m in my room lying on my bed… I feel much more depressed when it’s cold and rainy compared to when it’s sunny “.
