Texas

When the Power Goes Out: Storms, Outages, and Mental Health in Texas

By Dr. Stacey Forbes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

For many Texans, the sound of the air conditioning cutting out is no longer just an inconvenience. The February 2021 winter storm left millions of people without power, many of them for days, in freezing homes. Houston families remember Harvey’s floodwater in 2017. Coastal towns watch every storm that forms in the Gulf. Experiences like these leave a mark, and they shape how people feel every time the forecast turns.

Grid anxiety is not irrational

Worry about the power grid in Texas is a response to something that actually happened. That matters clinically, because the aim is not to argue someone out of a fear with a basis in fact. The useful questions are whether the worry is proportionate, whether it stays attached to real risk, and whether it leaves room for ordinary life. Checking grid conditions during a hard freeze is prudent. Checking them hourly in mild weather, losing sleep over an outage that has not happened, or feeling panic whenever the lights flicker suggests the anxiety has outgrown its usefulness.

• Frequent checking of weather or grid conditions when no threat is forecast
• Sleep problems that begin with any cold front or heat advisory
• A racing heart, nausea, or a tight chest triggered by reminders
• Avoiding plans or travel across an entire season
• Irritability and exhaustion that do not lift once the weather clears

The stress that comes after

The emergency is often not the hardest part. What follows can be worse: burst pipes, insurance claims, contractor delays, lost wages, children out of school, and weeks of broken routine. Low mood, poor sleep, irritability, and trouble concentrating are common in that stretch and do not automatically mean a disorder. They deserve attention when they last for weeks, interfere with work or relationships, or come with intrusive memories, nightmares, or strong reactions to reminders of the event — signs that can point toward a trauma response rather than ordinary stress, which calls for trauma-informed care.

Outages are a medication problem

A long outage quietly disrupts psychiatric treatment. Pharmacies close or run on limited systems, roads become unsafe, phones die, and a refill due on Tuesday does not happen until the following week. Stopping some psychiatric medications abruptly can cause unpleasant discontinuation symptoms, and for some conditions an interruption can bring symptoms back. The FDA advises discarding medicines that have come into contact with floodwater or unsafe water, even in their original containers, and checking with a pharmacist before using a medicine that was not kept at its recommended temperature during an outage.

A plan made in calm weather

Preparing does not require a generator. It requires a handful of decisions made before the forecast turns, while thinking is clear.

• Keep a written list of every medication, dose, and prescriber — on paper and in your phone
• Refill on time rather than at the last pill, especially going into winter and hurricane season
• Ask your prescriber now what to do if you miss doses or cannot get a refill
• Keep a charged battery pack so you can reach your pharmacy and your clinician
• Know which pharmacy in another part of town you would use if yours is closed

Telehealth helps in one specific way: a video appointment does not depend on the roads, so a check-in can often go ahead when an in-person visit would be cancelled — provided you have a charged device and a signal.

When to reach out

Ask for an evaluation if anxiety about weather or outages has lasted more than a season, if your sleep has not recovered since a storm, or if memories of an event keep intruding. SAMHSA also runs a Disaster Distress Helpline for people struggling after a disaster. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911; for crisis support at any hour, call or text 988.

Common Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• Ready.gov — Power Outages
• FDA — Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster
• SAMHSA — Disaster Distress Helpline
• NIMH — Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline