Anger Beginning of Untold Grieving by Katrina's Victims

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Amid the unimaginable destruction and mountains of debris left by Hurricane Katrina, something else is growing among the victims that eventually will help them begin to heal: anger.

Thomas T. Frantz, Ph.D., a University at Buffalo expert on the grieving process, says that many of the victims have begun to grieve simply by expressing their anger at the shortcomings of relief efforts intended to help them.

But, he says, the victims can't yet mourn the losses they have incurred because they themselves are still struggling to survive.

"The government so far has been largely unable to function," continues Frantz, an associate professor and chair in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology in the UB Graduate School of Education.

"The main thing this is going to spawn is anger. We're going to see increasing anger at the cities, at the state and federal governments. That is, in a way, the beginning of a kind of a grief process, because anger is a part of grief. Anger is often a necessary step to go through to get to the sadness."

Cathartic grief for the hurricane victims is waiting in the wings as they focus their physical, mental and emotional resources on staying alive, Frantz says.

"At a time like this, grieving hasn't set in yet. Imagine if you are caught in a boat in a storm, you don't start grieving until you are on solid ground, away from dangerous waters."

Many of the Louisiana and Mississippi residents don't yet know what they have lost and are still waiting for news of missing relatives and the condition of their homes.

"Grief doesn't begin with uncertainty. There's a hierarchy of need there, with the first need being to stay alive, second, to find some food, shelter and clothing, and so on. In the aftermath, when you know you're going to have a meal and you're alive, then you begin to feel grief," Frantz says.

What is occurring among many of the victims is "some degree of psychological shock," he adds. "Shock puts emotions on hold; it mobilizes you so you can deal with the crisis at hand. In the midst of chaos, shock puts you in a problem-solving mode."

Yet "sometimes the shock is so great, it immobilizes you and you simply can't function at all. Those are the victims who are going to need people to carry them, to feed them, to help them somehow," Frantz says.

Besides the refugees now evacuating the stricken area, there are untold numbers of people who were away when the storms hit and are desperate for information regarding their families and their homes.

"There again, the grief won't start until they know what they are grieving," Frantz says. "They are searching and that's primarily a cognitive level phenomenon."

But once relief efforts achieve a stabilization of the stricken areas, the feelings will emerge and result in a second kind of flooding for these already battered populations.

"We're going to face the anger of many, many people who are angry about being ignored, not being helped. That anger will be widespread and I suspect that it will have political repercussions for a long, long time," Frantz concludes.

Thomas T. Frantz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo
716-645-2484 ext. 1064 or 1006
ttfrantz@buffalo.edu