Mental health advocate says trauma from Melissa only now surfacing

WESTERN BUREAU:

Mental health advocate Tishauna Mullings is warning that the psychological toll of Hurricane Melissa is only now beginning to surface, two months after the storm left widespread physical destruction across Jamaica, mainly its southwestern parishes.

Speaking at an empowerment and psychosocial intervention session in Catherine Hall on Monday, Mullings said many residents of that community as well as Westgreen and the wider western parishes are only now experiencing emotional fallout because trauma was not properly processed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

“When you face trauma and you don’t deal with it properly, it chips away at you little by little,” said Mullings, mental health and psychosocial support (MHSS) coordinator with Project HOPE. “Just like unhealthy food weakens the body over time, unprocessed trauma weakens our psychological strength.”

She explained that Jamaica’s deeply ingrained culture of resilience often masks emotional pain, leaving many people to suppress their experiences rather than confront them.

“As Jamaicans, we say we are strong and we don’t deal with it, but over time, you realise you start breaking easier,” Mullings said.

She also highlighted the issue of survivor’s guilt, noting that many people – including those who were spared the worst physical impacts of the hurricane – feel undeserving of grief or even joy.

“If your roof is lifted, you still have a right to feel sad,” she told residents, stressing that “joy and grief can exist together. Feeling joy does not mean you are dismissing someone else’s pain.”

Her assessment aligns with observations from St James Custos Bishop Conrad H. Pitkin, who has also noted that emotional trauma has become increasingly visible across the parish.

“One way or another, directly or indirectly, all of us have been affected by the devastation. Some people don’t even realise they are traumatised until something happens,” Pitkin said.

ENDURANCE

He shared the experience of an 89-year-old woman who endured the hurricane alone in her home.

“Thank God, she’s alive. Her roof went, her glass door on the right side went, and she was holding the left side – the only thing still standing – with just a few boards holding it up,” he recalled.

Pitkin said that about a week ago, when heavy rain returned, the woman’s nephew called her.

“She said, ‘The rain, the rain,’ and started to cry in fear of a repeat of the trauma she went through during the storm,” he said.

According to Pitkin, the woman appeared outwardly stable in the weeks following the hurricane but later broke down when weather conditions triggered memories of the ordeal.

“You never knew she was traumatised until more than a month after, and several other persons are still crying every time they think about it,” Pitkin added.

The mental health psychosocial intervention session, hosted by Project HOPE on Monday in collaboration with the Office of the Custos of St James and the St James Chapter of the Justice of the Peace Association of Jamaica, was held at the Word of Faith Deliverance Centre in Catherine Hall. The initiative aimed to help residents find healthy pathways to recovery by providing a safe, respectful space for emotional support and practical coping skills. Residents in attendance also received complimentary therapeutic massages, courtesy of Escape Concierge Spa.

Pitkin noted that his concern for the mental well-being of residents intensified after witnessing the scale of fear during the hurricane.

“Where I sat in my living room, I couldn’t even see past the gate. It was that dark and wild out there. It is enough to drive living fear into any human being,” he said.

Many residents of Westgreen and Catherine Hall were left with little more than the clothes they were wearing after Hurricane Melissa-related floods and winds destroyed homes and personal belongings.

Mullings, who also shared her own experience of losing everything after returning to Jamaica from overseas studies, said loss can sometimes create space for renewal.

“Sometimes loss clears space for new beginnings,” she said. “That’s why mental health matters – so when opportunity comes, you are ready to rise higher than where you were before the disaster.”

Janet Ferguson told The Gleaner that the session has helped her to begin coping with her grief.

“I thought I needed therapy because I lost my only child during the hurricane, so I am here to hear what is being shared and to see how best I can cope – differently from how I have been trying to deal with my trauma,” Ferguson said.

She explained that her 38-year-old son had been ill, and in the midst of the hurricane, was unable to cope.

“He went to sleep and never woke up,” she said, adding that she appreciated the therapeutic support provided. “I enjoyed the massage I just received.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com