Disasters Psychological disorders
Written by Anam Hussain
Definition:
Psychological effects can be defined as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily harm or mental tension and may be a factor is disease causation.
Stress:
- Two most common forms of stress are: acute stress and chronic stress
- Acute stress: comes from the demands of recent, past, near and future
- Is thrilling and exciting in small doses but too much is exhausting
- Sufferers tend to be irritable, short-tempered anxious and tense
- Chronic stress: defined as grinding stress that wears people down over a little or long period of time. People become very pessimistic and eventually get used to it.
- Symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may require extended medical and behavioural treatment as well as stress management
During a disaster’s impact, response and recovery phase, acute stress reactions and their consequences as well as Post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) can be recorded amongst the affected population and relief workers. This stress has various origins
- Unexpected occurrence of the event
- Feelings of helplessness in front of DF impacts
- Loss of family member and friends as well as personal possessions
- Grief for irreversible losses
- Encounter of death is one of the most powerful stressors
Reactions observed in acute stress syndrome, from 2-4 weeks are grouped into 4 categories: emotional, cognitive, physical and interpersonal
Emotional effects:
- Shock, terror, irritability
- Blame anger, guilt
- Grief/sadness, helplessness, emotional numbness
Cognitive effects:
- Impaired concentration and decision-making abilities
- Memory impairment, confusion, nightmares
- Worry, self-blame
Physical effects:
- fatigue/exhaustion, insomnia
- Headaches, GI upset, decreased appetite, decreases libido
- Cardiovascular strain, hyperarousal, reduced immune response
Interpersonal effects:
- Alienation, social withdrawal, distrust
- Externalisation of blame and vulnerability, feeling abandoned/rejected
- Overprotectiveness
If reactions to stressors remain for more than one month, it is most likely that PTSD is in development. It can be caused by:
- Exposure to traumatic disaster
- Re-experiencing symptoms
- Avoidance and numbing of symptoms
- Symptoms of increased arousal
- Duration of at least one month’s worth of exposure to stressors
- Significant distress or impairment of functioning
The percentage of PTSD can vary depending on the nature of the trauma. At the time of the traumatic event, many people feel overwhelmed with fear, others feel numb or disconnected. Most trauma survivors will be upset for several weeks following an event but will recover to a variable degree without treatment. There is a greater risk of developing PTSD when there is exposure to: