Cited in Yahoo Health – People Are Upset With Hurricane Joaquin: Here’s Why

Hurricanes and other natural disasters can prompt our fears, and even our excitement, depending on what one’s experience of past hurricanes has been. Media hype can fan these flames, leaving us tuned in and ready to witness the storm. But with Hurricane Joaquin’s path veering away from the East Coast, some people are disappointed that it won’t reach landfall even as by all measures this is a good thing. I was pleased to help out on this piece by Korin Miller for Yahoo Health looking at why.

As for the disappointed feeling when a hurricane doesn’t amount to much, licensed clinical psychologist Alicia H. Clark, PsyD, tells Yahoo Health that it’s just that: legitimate disappointment. The threat of a hurricane can make us anticipate a day off from work, school, and general life obligations, and also can lend a sense of novelty to our lives.

When the opportunity is snatched away, it leaves us feeling cheated.

“Without that surge of excitement and a resolution, we can be left disappointed at some level,” she says, “even as a disaster averted is a decidedly preferred outcome.”