The Emotional Anatomy of a Collective Crisis

We just lived through the same crisis — an ice storm that froze Nashville in place for the better part of a week and caused the worst power outage the city has ever seen. While we all experienced it, everyone’s experience was different, even from one neighbor to the next. Some lost power for two weeks. Others had lights and heat the whole time. Some had trees split their home in two. Others just had to clean up a few sticks. Some had frozen pipes that left them homeless. Others were already unhoused and “remarkably unbothered” by the cold.The ice storm of 2026 will become a core memory for many of us. For others, the outages and related damage is the least of our problems. Reactions have ranged from anger to empathy and resignation to activation. Today, we’re doing a bit of an autopsy on the emotional anatomy of a collective crisis. We’ll look at how we should process all that these last two weeks brought up, and we’re taking your calls later in the hour.GuestsKate Martin, M.Ed., LPC-MHSP, The EstuaryAshley Hampton, Director, Healing In The MarginsAnita Richardson, native Nashvillian and new participant in the NES solar programRev. Dr. Kate Fields, Associate Chaplain for Community Life and Justice Ministry, St. Augustine's Episcopal Church