Meaghan was one of thousands across NSW and Queensland who had their lives turned upside down by unprecedented floods, now officially a national emergency.

Like many in Lismore on NSW's North Coast, she thought it would be safe to stay, as the 2017 floodwaters had not entered her house. Unfortunately, this time she found herself stuck, suspended 12.6 metres above the ground, only for the level to keep rising and rising.

By the time she realised her house would go under it was too late and so the North Lismore resident packed herself and her cat Cleo into a kayak in a last-ditch attempt to survive.

That journey across raging currents to the roof of a local timber store is something that will stay with her for the rest of her life.

"For days afterwards I was waking up paddling," she said.

"But I was one of the lucky ones because I got through to the SES and they let me know they weren't coming. I knew then I had to just mobilise.

"They said don't get into your kayak because that's how people die and they are right. I'm really lucky to be alive."

Now the adrenaline has worn off, Meaghan is slowly putting her life back together, trying to salvage her house with the help of friends and strangers.

She stands in awe of the way communities like Lismore have come together and believes it will be crucial to long-term mental recovery.

"Houses and cars and boats don't catch us. They save us but they don't catch us, people do," she said.

"There's a bloody big challenge ahead but I'm really aware of what we've got right now. People are living with their children on balconies at the moment or in their cars. That's where the community is at.

"In terms of mental health I know support services are really important, especially for people who need medication, but it's people holding hands and showing up for each other. That's what's holding me."

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It's a situation Lismore doctor Chris Ignall fears will become critical with an already overwhelmed mental health system unequipped to deal with such a widespread traumatic event.

"When you get to a situation where it's literally a natural disaster, like the fires, where you have people fearing for their lives, that's an indelible trauma," he said.

"It has to be addressed and my concern up here is, particularly post-COVID, the waiting list for psychologists and headspace is on the never-never. You get put on a waitlist."

Dr Ignall, who specialises in paediatrics, said he expected children to recover faster than adults, who were staring down a life-changing event.

With 2834 homes in the NSW Northern Rivers have been condemned and people still unaccounted for, Dr Ignall called for a targeted and outside-the-box response from all three levels of government.

"These griefs are too much to process at once and actually I think kids do it pretty well. They do bit-sized bits," he explained.

"There's a lot of loss and trauma around this event. I would love some kind of coordinated psychological support whether it be in a group setting or individually.

"People are living on adrenaline. They are displaced from their homes and then add all this trauma and grief.

"In light of the fact that we have an overwhelmed psychological business community there are going to be some pretty tough, raw times."