Hurricane Helene devastated the lives of many throughout Western North Carolina and as many are working on rebuilding, mental health is not a priority. But should it be that way?
Helene caused the damage of more than 100,000 homes in WNC, affecting nearly 200,000 people total. Eighty community emergency response teams volunteered logging more than 3,500 hours.
Caroline Engler, Director and Licensed Psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) explains that natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene can have significant and far-reaching impacts on mental health and wellness.
“For months or even years after witnessing a natural disaster, you may find yourself struggling to focus, to respond, and/or to navigate your days in the ways you were able to do so before the event,” Engler said.
Engler says those struggling may experience nightmares, difficulty trusting your sense of safety, internal conflicts with your previous world view and feelings of disconnection from your community.
CAPS has seen a rise in request for appointments in the aftermath of Helene.
“We have worked to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of all students as we enter spring semester,” Engler said.
CAPS is available for all registered WCU students who have paid the student health fee as well as faculty and staff who are interested in counseling.
The topic of mental health is often stigmatized whether it be about a person struggling with mental health or seeking treatment. People who struggle with mental health are often seen, or thought of, as dangerous.
“The more prevalent stigma is related to dangerousness particularly dangerousness towards other people but also dangerousness toward oneself,” Kathleen Brennan, Director of the Sociology Program at Western Carolina University, said.
Other stigma’s that surround mental health revolve around seeking treatment.
“There are also stigmas related to treatment seeking, the idea that if someone, receives treatment for mental illness that they may be seen less favorably in the eyes of, you know, people who are close to them or people who they work with, or people in their community,” Brennan explained.
Because of stigmas those who are seeking treatment might not be willing to talk about it opening and want to hide it from people, especially on college campuses.
“A lot of people don’t take the time to evaluate their mental health and it affects them pretty bad in the long run and the short term as well,” said Jacob Pendergraph, WCU student and volunteer in Asheville in the aftermath of Helene.
Pendergraph volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse, a faith-based outreach group.
“I mean it looked like a warzone. It was bad. There was bodies on the side of the streets, families stuck in their houses. It was hard to see and thinking just a couple days earlier it was a normal city,” Pendergraph said.
While volunteering he cleared up roads, helping families out of trapped houses and aiding in search in rescue missions in Burnseville, NC.
While volunteering in the wake of Helene, Pendergraph struggled with what he saw in the streets of Asheville.
“I mean it was hard. Even with the mental preparation of I might see some stuff it was still really hard to process,” Pendergraph said. “I mean nobody’s ever really prepared to see a dead body laying on the side of the road until it happens.”
Pendergraph has been in counseling for a while, but still finds it hard to speak on mental health issues because of societal views of men.
“Society has this compulsive urge to view men as strong, emotionless, unflappable. They think the little things in life don’t bother us and that we don’t have mental health and it’s not something we need to worry about,” he said.
Brennan explains than women are more likely to disclose information about mental health whereas men are less likely.
“There’s a lot of different social factors that go into why men are less likely to disclose experiencing it or even to really recognize some of the symptoms,” said Brennan.
Traditional gender norms play a huge role in why men do not disclose and typically do not talk about mental health.
Pendergraph advises fellow students to have an outlet for what they are going through.
“What you’re doing is heavy, life is hard, nobody should ever be expected to go through it without having a shoulder to cry on,” he said.
Regardless of stigma mental health is important and should always be taken seriously.
For more information on services provided on WCU’s campus you can visit caps.wcu.edu. If in need of assistance you can schedule an appointment at 828.227.7469.
