Dear Linda,

I am still in shock over what Katrina has wrought. I want to get my life back to normal, but I feel paralyzed by my anger. Am I the only one going through this?
Gigi S., Chalmette

Dear Gigi,
No, you aren’t. Your feelings of anger are completely normal. Give yourself time to work through your emotions. When tragedy strikes, relying on others for advice and reassurance is critical to gaining perspective. However, our support networks are very weak now because all of us are enduring great strain. Most of us have never experienced a tragedy similar to this one, so we are all learning together. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler’s On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss (Scribner, 2005) is a spectacular book you could benefit from reading right now. I think the five stages of grief can be applied to the losses inflicted upon us by Katrina. You’ve already experienced the first two stages: denial and anger. You will probably work through the bargaining stage next and then experience depression before emerging into acceptance. These stages can serve as a guide as you work through your feelings. Talk to others about how you feel and allow yourself time to heal.