Natural disasters are traumatic life events, and hence, extremely overwhelming, said Tanushri Baikal Talker, clinical psychologist, Marina Hospital. “These are on a large-scale, and often unexpected,” she added.
Exploring this nature of such disasters, a June 2022 study by the University of California, Irvine focused on indirect, direct, and media-based exposure to hurricanes Irma and Michael, which hit the United States in 2017 and 2018 respectively. It found that symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD), depression, and anxiety were identified, along with general ongoing fear and worry in the study population. It further indicated a link between natural disasters and adverse psychological issues, raising concerns about the impact of climatic events on mental health.
Most people will recover and display resilience over time. However, as climate-related catastrophic hurricanes and other natural disasters such as wildfires and heat waves escalate, this natural healing process may be disrupted by repeated threat exposure, noted Dana Rose Gar fin of the University of California, Irvine, and the first author of the study.
As such, in the wake of the recent natural disasters like floods (in Assam, more than 45 lakh people affected), earthquakes (in Afghanistan, more than 1,000 people dead), cyclones (in Sunder bans and surrounding areas), heatwaves in Iran, Spain and parts of the United States, experts elucidate the link between natural calamities and mental health, and what must be done.
According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)’s 2011 review titled Disasters and their consequences for public health, “disasters directly impact the health of the population resulting in physical trauma, acute disease, and emotional trauma. In addition, disasters may increase the morbidity and mortality associated with chronic disease and infectious disease through the impact on the health care system”.
Notably, National Disaster Management Authority (ND MA) states that since “disasters do not affect uniformly” with their effect differing from person-to-person and region-to-region, even under normal circumstances, vulnerable groups due to their physical, emotional, and social limitations do not get adequate help and support and are “prone to both physical and psychological difficulties”.
The loss of resources, loss of daily routine, lack of control over one’s own possessions and loss of social support were associated with elevated levels of acute psychological distress, a 2019-review of literature from NCBI noted.
Why are natural disasters a matter of concern?
Research from NCBI also indicates mental health issues, in general, have been considered as a neglected subject especially in India in view of the stigma attached. Mental health issues caused by disasters are even more neglected, it states. Thus, in order to fill this gap, there is a need to understand more about disasters and mental health. Agreed Dr. Reddy Neill MD, psychiatry, Citizen's Specialty Hospital and said, “Loss of social and economic resources are acknowledged by the disaster survivors and the community but recognizing psychological suffering is usually stigmatized or neglected by most.”
What can be done?
First would always be medical aid at the earliest and providing realistic solutions to cope. “These would be practical things which relate to where people need to go, access to medical services, food, shelter, etc. The availability of information is crucial to ensuring that panic does not set in and people feel they are being led in a calm, collected manner that would ensure their safety and security,” explained Cribber.
According to ND MA, India’s mental health response during disasters has evolved from identifying and treating individual psychiatric cases to strengthening the coping abilities of survivors in a community (Kishore Kumar et al., 2000). The National Mental Health Program (NMHP) includes strategies for the Psychosocial Care and Mental Health Services in disasters (PSMHS). Acceptance of the psychological impact of a natural disaster is the first step towards coping strategies, asserted Dr. Reddy Nallu.
ND MA’s guidelines also aim at improved coping capacities of disaster struck communities by offering appropriate support to rebuild their lives. The service networks consist of psychiatric units of tertiary healthcare facilities, and educational institutions, clinical psychologists, social workers, NGOs, paramedical professionals, community level workers, and volunteers.
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