Speaking of Rita ...

Oops! Did I say Rita? I meant Gustav.

Actually, I wasn't too far off the first time.

It has come to my attention that some of what I'm experiencing now, and have been since Gustav came roaring over the horizon, is related to Rita.

While I don't believe what I'm experiencing is classic, full-blown PTSD, I'm certainly experiencing some of the symptoms, and I suspect that's perfectly normal when you're looking down the barrel of a potentially Category 5 hurricane, like Gustav was as my family and others fled the Golden Triangle area.

It strikes me that Gustav was the perfect trigger for subconscious flashbacks to how Rita affected our lives. So it should be no surprise (but was) that I'm suddenly hypervigilant about hurricanes in general and that darned "hurricane train" chugging through the Atlantic at the moment, in particular.

Here's what the mayoclinic.com website has to say about PTSD: (Hope they don't get mad if I cut-n-paste instead of link. I'd rather have this info all in one spot.)

"Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may include:

Flashbacks, or reliving the traumatic event for minutes or even days at a time
Shame or guilt
Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event
Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
Feeling emotionally numb
Irritability or anger
Poor relationships
Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much
Hopelessness about the future
Trouble sleeping
Memory problems
Trouble concentrating
Being easily startled or frightened
Not enjoying activities you once enjoyed
Hearing or seeing things that aren't there

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms can come and go. You may have more symptoms during times of higher stress or when you experience symbolic reminders of what you went through."

Nothing symbolic about watching those hurricane symbols and cones of probability crossing the screen! *she said sarcastically, shakes head* Well, nothing symbolic beyond the fact that those were what I watched from a hotel in California as Rita inexorably headed this way. The fact that Gustav didn't send me fleeing from the state screaming is probably a minor accomplishment.

Truth is, I most likely don't have full-blown PTSD. However, I fully believe it's possible to have a situationally induced experience of the symptoms. I'm also reasonably certain I'm not the only person feeling this way.

The most important thing for me to hold onto right now is that I'm not imagining things and I'm not crazy! It's completely understandable for one to feel the way you did when you came home to the hole in the roof and thawed stuff in the fridge almost exactly three years ago. True, no hole in the roof this time, but I did apparently accidentally turn off the fridge, so I once again lost the contents of a freshly stocked refrigerator. *sigh*

This, too, shall pass. A little bit faster now that I've realized what's going on, I hope, but sooner or later life will get back to normal.

...

Probably after hurricane season is completely over!