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Southern Wisconsin got soaked with rain last summer, walloped with record snow this winter and now faces widespread flooding and storm damage.

Add in soaring gas prices and the lagging economy -- illustrated by the recently announced closure of Janesville's General Motors plant -- and life here can seem bleak.

"When you start piling things like this on top of everything else, it becomes more problematic for people to cope," said Dr. Jerry Halverson, a UW Health psychiatrist.

People who lost homes or possessions in the recent torrents are probably bearing the brunt of the emotional toll, but many area residents may be struggling with mental health problems these days, experts say.

"It's easy for people to get totally overwhelmed by the enormity of it all," said Dan Brattset, deputy director of the Sauk County Department of Human Services.

More than twice the average number of people sought help this week from mental health therapists at the county, Brattset said. Many of the distraught were among the dozens of displaced families at area shelters, he said.

"It's pretty devastating to lose your home and possessions and maybe have to relocate for an extended period," he said. "We're trying to keep them in touch and talking. That keeps people in a better state of mind. "

Rita Strutz faced the agonizing choice of many: What few possessions would she save from a rising flood?

"That is a really creepy feeling to look around your house and say what is most important," Strutz said. "I can't tell you how sickening that was. "

Strutz, 50, and her husband, Fred, fled Sunday as the waters of the Baraboo River encircled the couple's 100-year-old farmhouse in the town of Winfield in Sauk County.

Fred moved the farm's beef cattle and machinery to higher ground. Rita grabbed photos of her grandchildren, family papers and an antique bowl her mother-in-law had been given as a wedding gift.

Their home and farm sustained about $15,000 in damage, Rita said.

Departing with possessions or choosing among them is difficult because "people feel like they're losing a piece of themselves," said Halverson, the UW Health psychiatrist.

Threats from tornadoes and floods to residential areas are unpredictable invasions of one of the few aspects of modern life over which people feel they have control, he said.

"We can usually count on going home and being safe at home," he said. "And suddenly, that's gone. "

Gas prices and the economy have become underlying stresses for many people, and the topsy-turvy weather can exacerbate the anxiety, Halverson said.

But Brattset said it doesn't help to worry about everything at once.

"Don't allow yourself to cascade into connecting all of these events because they're not connected," he said. "Ask yourself what you can take care of today and work through it one step at a time. "