ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Loss and physical damage from Hurricane Helene are taking an emotional toll on those directly and indirectly impacted.

What You Need To Know

  •  A grief counselor says feelings of grief are not linear and can include anger, sadness, anxiety and denial

  • Prioritizing well-being and self-care are essential in coping with loss

  • Kindness from the community is helping to motivate a St. Pete woman who was already grieving when Helene flooded her home

Physical damage and devastation from Hurricane Helene line the streets of our Bay Area communities. The tragedy left behind is taking an emotional toll on those impacted directly and indirectly.

“A lot of people know the feeling of grief and loss,” said Kirby Kelleher, a licensed clinical social worker at Ellie Mental Health in St. Petersburg.

“Everybody experiences in some way or another, whether its death, divorce or in this case maybe losing your home, losing your vehicle, and there’s certainly a lot of physical and facets of grief,” Kelleher said.

Amy Brooks was experiencing that grief, because her home located in St. Petersburg’s Riviera Bay flooded during Helene.

“It’s devastating,” she said. “I just bought my house three months ago and I was on the verge of finishing decorating, my little oasis."

“You have all of your possessions that you hold onto for your whole life and then all of a sudden you just have to decide, OK well am I going to try to salvage this and it’s with everything, every single thing that you own,” said Brooks.

The 34-year-old is coping with a loss that's quite heavy on its own, but Brooks said she was already grieving before the storm.

“I just lost one of the most important people in my life, my mom, so that is why I sought out therapy,” said Brooks, who is a patient of Kelleher's.

“Grief is normal, grief emotions are normal,” Kelleher said. “If you’re experiencing sadness or anxiety or stress in relation to this loss or any other loss, the best thing you can do is prioritize your wellbeing. Eat well, sleep as best you can, try to lean on the support of your loved ones."

“Really, just checking in with your loved ones and your neighbors and finding out what they need — maybe they need a meal, maybe they need a hug, maybe they need a resource,” Kelleher added

Brooks said hugs and that support she has received have helped keep her motivated.

“While it is exhausting, the community coming together and helping everybody, that is giving me more energy to keep going,” she said.

She said it's OK to talk about something other than loss, too.

“Tell me things that are going on in your life that make you laugh or smile,” said Brooks. “Let’s talk about anything else in the world besides this, because it’s very easy for this to consume you.”

Instead, Brooks wants to concentrate on kindness that helps her cope with the loss of her home and her mother.

“I like to think that she spread her generosity and kind heart throughout the community and people feed off of her love,” she said.