For those with post-traumatic stress disorder — nightmares, angry outbursts, suicidal thoughts and flashbacks are symptoms of time spent in war zones. Those symptoms give victims no peace. 

But now, the symptoms are being experienced by school age children in urban Louisiana. 

According to a study by the Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies, 60% of children in New Orleans experience PTSD. That rate is four times the national average.  

So, how did the Big Easy — a city known for fun, jazz and Mardi Gras — create an environment similar to a war zone? 

Niya Cordier and her husband, Jason Jackson, say for their family, it all began with Hurricane Katrina. 

One of the largest and most destructive storms in U.S. history, killed over 1,800 and left behind $125 billion in damage. 

"Katrina was a catastrophic event," Cordier said. "It traumatized my entire family."

She says her 10-year-old son, Will, saw things no child should experience.  

SEE MORE: Habitat For Humanity: Rebuilding New Orleans After Katrina

"My own son got to see dead bodies, people being shot, people being shoved to the ground, harmed, hurt, fighting over buses, fighting over food, fighting over the little bit that was being looted, waiting for days for someone to come and he was 10," Cordier continued. "What did they expect that would do to all of these kids?"

After Katrina came another trauma—gun violence.  

Samuel Chesterfiled is a longtime licensed professional counselor who's helped school-aged children through PTSD.

"Seeing my neighbor or the stranger murdered in my yard, I see the blood. That's traumatic," he said. 

Chesterfield says it's common for children living in urban areas like New Orleans to experience PTSD. "Natural disasters, traumatic events, abuse — and that's both physical and emotional trauma. That could be the death of a loved one, a chronic illness, that could be cancer, a traumatic event, a car wreck, violence, all of those things play a major, major role and especially when you live in an inner city," he said.

SEE MORE: How Has Our Approach To Treating PTSD Evolved?

With the support of family, Will graduated from high school and made it to college. But a decision to return home for the summer, sent his life into a tailspin. 

"He was playing ball one night …. A guy pulls out a gun and starts shooting," Cordier said. "Those few little words changed my life...'Ma, I got shot' ... The events of what happened when my son was shot was like a domino effect for us."

After the shooting, Cordier says her son turned into a completely different person. He changed his name, carried guns, and dropped out of college. 

The shooting left this family in shock. And triggered PTSD in his younger 13-year-old sister, Jayce. Newsy is not showing her face to protect her privacy. 

"I'm scared," she said. "It's like a thought [that] if I make eye contact with the wrong person and I hold it for a little too long, something bad might happen."

Jayce now refuses to go through that neighborhood of New Orleans where her big brother nearly lost his life.  

"It makes me nervous and it makes me ancy if I'm being honest," she said. "It's like, an unsettling feeling."

Summer months in New Orleans not only bring heat, but also violence.  

In 2022, New Orleans topped the list of cities with the highest increase in homicide rates, according to Wallet Hub. Mental health experts say it's due to a lack of activities, internships and jobs for teens. 

The Center for Resilience was born out of a desperate need to help children in the city. For the last eight years, executive director Elizabeth Marcell Williams has been a provider. 

"Over a period of time in the years after Hurricane Katrina, we saw a gradual shutdown of state-run programming for children and adolescents with mental health needs," she said. "Around 2012 or so, schools in the city began articulating a need and saying, 'We have kids in our building right now who are crying out for more intensive support than we are equipped to be able to provide and it's manifesting in aggressive behaviors and property destruction and, you know, children are not being able to learn.'"

They are now the city's only therapeutic day program, shining a light to help kids find their way out of darkness. The nonprofit provides counseling and enough academics to help students graduate.  

"On average, when we look at our success rate, 83% of the kids who have come through our program and gone back to their home school have been successful in that home school," Williams said.

Cordier says such a program might have helped her family. Instead, she and her husband moved to the suburbs of New Orleans for protection of their mental health, and peace. 

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The 2008 recession proved devastating not only to the economy but American lives after suicide numbers spiked in its wake. And for veterans at a high risk of unemployment and mental illness, experts say greater efforts are needed to support the population.

A nonprofit in San Diego is using a unique form of therapy to help veterans and their caregivers during this time.

"All I have to do is relax. Being able to get out of my head and literally not have to do anything for an hour, it's amazing," said Candra Murphy, an Air Force veteran.

In a pool heated to match the human temperature, veterans are transported to a state of calm.

"It's often equated to if you were to go all the way back to being the womb, and that safety and serenity of being in the watery environment," said Elizabeth Berg, executive director of Wave Academy.

But like many veterans sent to the aquatic therapy program, Murphy had her reservations.

"The first session, I was tense pretty much all the way through," remembered Murphy.

Murphy served for six years and deployed once to Balad, Iraq. She says the base was a constant target for mortar attacks, and the most difficult part of the deployment was not knowing what was going to happen next.

When she reintegrated back into civilian life, everyday tasks like driving, were a challenge.

"It just depends on the day. More often than not, my symptoms tend to show up as anxiety, hyper-vigilance, general distrust of crowds. I tend to self-isolate a lot," said Murphy.

Through counseling, Murphy learned she had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She began sessions at Wave Academy before COVID-19, but like many services, it was put on hold.

Murphy says she's been managing the pandemic well, but it was challenging not having access to the therapies which help with her PTSD.

"For the first time ever, we have a wait list of people who would like to have our therapy program," said Berg.

Wave Academy serves veterans, active duty service members, and caregivers. Through donors and granters, they're able to provide eight sessions at no cost for people with low to moderate-income.

"It's great for physical therapy as well, the warm water and the light massaging and maybe twist or stretches is absolutely helpful for the physical body. But I think the piece that makes it so effective when we're working with veterans who have post-traumatic stress, you know we're working with that trauma of the mind, is that this particular therapy transcends from body to mind," said Berg.

Clinical psychologist Mark Jesinoski works with combat veterans, many who were already dealing with heightened physical and emotional pain before the pandemic.

"I'm hearing from a lot of veterans that they're feeling more isolated, they're feeling less supported. Exactly what they need they're not getting right now," said Dr. Jesinoski.

He says he's alarmed by what he sees in his practice, for both civilians and veterans.

"When I look back at my veteran community that I get to work with every day and feel their pulse, what I notice is every single thing they experience as normal people is completely and totally magnified by what's happening in our society today," said Dr. Jesinoski.

A report from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute indicated that for every 5 percent increase in the national unemployment rate, as many as 550 veterans a year could be lost to suicide, and 20,000 more could suffer from substance abuse disorders.

But instead of focusing on predictions, Dr. Jesinoski says society should seek proactive solutions.

"I don't think it's a matter of putting more money into it, I think it's about being much smarter and much wiser in how we allocate that money in being a much more interconnected system of services," said Dr. Jesinoski.

Between the government and community nonprofits like Wave Academy.

"What I would say to a veteran if they are struggling is don't do that pride thing, don't do that isolation thing, don't do the 'I ain't got time to bleed thing'. Be willing to take a breath and to overcome that resistance to asking for help," said Jesinoski.

After being inspired by his journey of working and healing with veterans, Dr. Jesinosky started a podcast to help support the population.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline anytime at 1-800–273-8255.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — People who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are finding relief with a single shot in the neck.

The treatment, called stellate ganglion block (SGB), has been used to treat pain for nearly a century. And in recent years, it has been shown to reduce symptoms associated with PTSD significantly.

Local anesthesia is injected near a bundle of nerves in the neck, called the stellate ganglion. These nerves are a key part of the sympathetic nervous system or our fight or flight response.

Immense trauma can send our fight or flight response into constant overdrive, disrupting sleep, causing overwhelming panic, anger attacks, chronic anxiety, nightmares, or flashbacks.

The medicine has a short-term effect, soothing and resetting overactive nerves.

“The procedure itself helps to take away those symptoms and make a person able to function normally," said Dr. John How. "You're not always on edge. Not everything is a threat."

Dr. How performs the treatment in Encinitas, California, and is part of a nationwide network of doctors with the Stella Center. Stella's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Eugene Lipov, is among the pioneers of SGB for PTSD.

"I think the most profound effects that happen – and it can happen 20 minutes after the procedure – people say they can take a deep breath, they feel like a weight on their chest has been lifted," said Dr. How.

An emergency physician, Dr. How not only performs the treatment but was a patient himself.

"It's something that really affects my community for front-line healthcare workers and first responders, and I found something that can help my community.”

Already used in the military, Stella Center is among several providers working to make the treatment accessible to more Americans.

While Dr. How says it's not a cure-all, he says 80% of patients find relief after one injection.

"Has made it so that many people have been able to take stop taking their medicines," said Dr. How. “The more people that know about this the better because it’s helping a lot of people.”

Air Force veteran Chris Jachimiec says the treatment was a game-changer in his post-traumatic stress recovery.

“In real-time, I actually felt like every muscle in my body just relaxed simultaneously," said Jachimiec. "I know my mindset has changed."

Jachimiec served in the Air Force for 20 years, causing wear and tear on his body and mind.

His brother, who was in the Marine Corps, died by suicide in 2017.

“The unit I was with was responding to hurricanes in Texas and Florida, so it was like, go, go, go. It wasn’t really a time to step back and address some of the mental anguish that I was going through, the trauma," said Jachimiec.

Within six months of his brother's death, Jachimiec would also lose two comrades to suicide. While he self-medicated with alcohol, he sought help in the military.

“There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution," he says. "You have to find what works for you."

Jachimiec is in alcohol recovery and no longer takes medication for stress. He created an organization to support those who’ve lost loved ones to suicide.

“This isn’t just for folks who served the military. Our society, in general, has gone through a lot of trauma," said Jachimiec.

While insurance covers the SGB procedure for the pain, it doesn’t cover treatment for PTSD. But that could change; lawmakers have joined doctors and patients in calling for more access.

Out-of-pocket, the treatment costs between $1,200 and $3,000. Providers like the Stella Center offer financing programs, as well as discounts and travel stipends to those who qualify.

“It does get better. It can. We all have good days, we all have bad days, we all have in different days, we all have great days," said Jachimiec. "If this unlocks something for somebody else and allows somebody to heal, then these words are absolutely worth it.”