Hurricane Milton puts some Floridians' mental health at risk after experiencing Helene days earlier, experts say

Some Floridians are bracing for Hurricane Milton just a week and a half after experiencing devastation brought by Hurricane Helene.

Record-breaking storm surges of up to 12 feet are expected in Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, with surges as high as 15 feet possible in Sarasota. Additionally, up to 18 inches of heavy rain is expected to inundate parts of central Florida.

For some other Florida residents, who might not have been affected by Helene, this will be the second major hurricane they face in less than two years after Hurricane Ian caused widespread damage to western Florida in 2022.

Experts told ABC News that experiencing trauma from one disaster so closely to another puts people at risk for symptoms of mental health disorders including anxiety and depression.

"This is a tragedy, obviously, that's happening to hundreds, if not millions, of people, and I would refer to their experience now as a cumulative trauma," Dr. Jennifer Genovese, an associate teaching professor and MSW program director at the School of Social Work at Syracuse University's David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, told ABC News.

"What they're going through is an ongoing, cumulative trauma that is impacting them, they've not had time to recover from one and another is bearing down on them," she added. 

When survivors of disasters, man-made or natural, don't have time to acknowledge or recognize the first disaster, and then experience a second disaster shortly after, they can be at risk of developing symptoms related to trauma, Genovese said.

Studies have shown that the risk of mental health disorders increases after disasters. One study from April 2023 found the prevalence of mental health disorders ranged from 5.8% to 87.6% for mental health disorders, with rates as high as 84% for anxiety, 52.7% for depression and 52% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In turn, depressive, anxiety and PTSD symptoms can decrease quality of life for disaster victims.

"The vast majority of people are resilient psychologically, but disasters can take a toll in many forms," Dr. Ian Stanley, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, told ABC News. "If you're exposed to one trauma, you'll bounce back likely. If you're exposed to another, you may not have the same reserves or the same support systems as the first time, which can be difficult."

It's the cumulative stressors after a major disaster that pile up over weeks and months -- what's the status of their home, do their jobs still exist, can they get food, do they have to deal with insurance companies -- that put them at risk for mental health disorders, he added.

Both Genovese and Stanley said the first step after a major disaster is physical safety, making sure there are no serious injuries. Afterward, people can focus on whether they may need help responding to the mental or emotional toll of Hurricane Milton.

Genovese recommended that people check in with their family, friends and loved ones in affected areas to ask if they are OK and if they need help. She also suggested people reach out, if they can, to reputable organizations, such as the Red Cross.

Stanley suggested that people not pivot away from negative emotions they may experience because of cumulative trauma, but rather address them head-on, saying that sitting with negative emotions is important for recovery.

A study published last year in the journal Emotion found that people who harshly judged negative feelings, such as sadness, were more likely to have symptoms of anxiety or depression than those who judged such feelings positively or neutrally.

"If someone's like, 'I'm feeling really sad right now and I'm really scared,' then lean into that and validate and acknowledge rather than pivot away from the negative emotions," Stanley said. "Part of that is just normalizing emotions and recognizing they come in ways that someone could be feeling fine, and then a wave of sadness just crashes over them."