Survive Hurricane Stress; Understand What's in Your Control

New Yorkers anxious over the potential effects of Hurricane Joaquin face significant emotional health risks if they don’t keep their stress in check, a local psychologist said.

Maintaining a hopeful outlook, establishing good communications with family and friends, and, basically, “controlling what you can control,” are the keys to avoiding hurricane hysteria before and after the storm arrives, said Curtis Reisinger, PhD, corporate director of the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s Employee Assistance Program.

“People reduce their stress and reduce their fear when they sense they’ve got some control over the situation,” Dr. Reisinger said. “Having connections and good communications with friends - those serve not only as a safeguard, but also to reduce the tension you might feel.”

Joaquin’s path remains unpredictable. The latest forecast predicts the Category 4 storm won’t make landfall in the United States, but strong winds, coastal flooding and beach erosion related to Joaquin threaten to impact much of the Atlantic Seaboard.

And with the memory of 2012’s devastating Hurricane Sandy still fresh in the collective mindset of metropolitan New York, Dr. Reisinger said it’s only natural for anxiety levels to rise.

“Humans are designed to anticipate problems and issues - and things that might potentially harm them,” he said. “I can’t say it’s inappropriate to have some fear or anticipation about what we have to be prepared for.”

But it’s important not to become consumed by worry.

“Things get out of control … when the worries, thoughts and the like start interfering with your daily life,” Dr. Reisinger said. “If you’re at work and you’re thinking all about the oncoming destruction (and) you can’t get it out of your head, (and) you’re tossing and turning at night, then it’s too much.”

With Joaquin still days away from New York, Dr. Reisinger suggests being practical.

“Think about the things that you need. You need emergency lighting, you need flash lights, you need a day-and-a-half worth of food, and you need to be able to escape your home,” he said.

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