Overcoming the psychological effects of natural disasters

Overcoming the psychological effects of natural disasters

By Myra Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The world is hit by many disasters every year. This year alone several storms, floods and earthquakes have been reported in several countries, followed by man-made disasters such as bombings, poisonous gas attacks, fires and collapsed buildings.

So far we have been lucky in that we can consider ourselves spectators who follow the aftermaths of disasters on television, radio or in newspapers. Different types of media have enabled us to follow various disasters, not only in our own country but in other countries as well, some in very remote places.

We all watch the coverage of disasters with sympathy for the victims. Although however deep our sympathies are, we can of course never really fully imagine their suffering. What we may see is people rummaging through debris in search of belongings which they wish to save, or people searching for loved ones who were suddenly taken away from them, to disappear perhaps forever.

We saw people laughing in the Philippines while trying to save a pig on a raft during a flood, and in Korea we saw people filled with relief at being saved after more than one week of being trapped under a collapsed building.

However, we see nothing of the initial experiences disaster victims go through, the panic caused by tremors when the land under them suddenly shakes, houses collapsing everywhere, trees being uprooted and people running everywhere, not knowing where to go, not knowing where they can find a place that is safe to stay. What we do not see is their fear when their houses collapse like playing cards, and their confusion when they try to save elderly people or their children trapped in the house. Or the panic when floodwaters inundate their houses, rising at an alarming rate and threatening their lives.

An earthquake may cause even more fear, because aftershocks can last for days, often tremors are felt many times an hour. People who have lost the roof over their heads try in vain to find shelter. Schools, office buildings and shops are no longer open for daily business and the alienness of a routine disrupted is felt.

Survivors are certainly wounded, perhaps not physically, but mentally. Trauma is not easily forgotten nor suppressed. Material and physical damage and loss can be measured and evaluated. But psychological damage is difficult to understand, let alone be estimated. Some may be relieved to find they escaped death, but they still have to cope with grief for the loss of their loved ones and for material loss. How can people understand the helplessness felt at what happened when trying to save the victims? And how small and helpless victims feel when nature gives them a beating, when people disappear under collapsed buildings, trees and rocks. The feelings of guilt of not being able to save anybody or anything may haunt them for the rest of their lives.

That they have to return to "normal life" may be easier said than done.

When the American Psychological Association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1992, it took the initiative to give psychological assistance to the victims of Andrew, a hurricane that caused enormous damage to the United States. This assistance was carried out by psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers and at the same time was research into the affects disasters have on victims.

Storms are the most frequent disturbances in the United States, where every year material damage reaches millions of dollars. Other places are more prone to other disasters. Whatever the disaster, the impact on the victims may be more or less the same.

According to the findings of the research, published in the November/December 1992 issue of Psychology Today, victims of disasters are overcome by a state of shock, anger and frustration at the time of the disaster. They try to find the remnants of their belongings and to calculate their losses. These belongings, often collected over a long time span, disappear in one short moment. They feel humiliated because they have to receive aid and this feeling may be the cause of psychosomatic illnesses, such as headache or stomach ache. Usually called the "effect stage", symptoms may last a few weeks to several months. Victims recover slowly from this stage, when their physical condition improves. This goes hand in hand with aid in food, clothing and housing. But it does not mean total recovery, because the study showed that victims still long for the conditions they lived under before the disaster.

The second stage is the stage of recovery. This comes when the victims slowly adapt to new conditions. They look for ways to continue their lives, look for daily routines and even start to feel that life is in their own hands again. This stage may last as long as 18 months.

In the beginning they may feel like heroes; they help each other and a feeling of solidarity develops. However, after a few days, they may feel disappointed, because aid arrives too slowly and there may be people who try to steal or to cheat. They may become angry because the places where they have to stay temporarily may be too small and too crowded. They may not get along with the people they have to share the shelters with. These people may be too noisy or may not observe the rules of cleanliness. Epidemics of diarrhea or even cholera may be the result of lack of clean water and food.

Victims may act out their emotions towards other members of the family, especially young children, who may cry a lot because they cannot sleep or do not have enough to eat. In Jambi last month, we saw that reporters were attacked because relief workers did not come in time to help the earthquake victims. There were also rumors that young girls had been kidnapped, causing attacks on security guards.

Tokens of sympathy come in various forms. In Indonesia some leading newspapers have made it a tradition to open up a reader's fund for disaster victims which enables readers to send in donations. Since the names and the amounts of donations are published, we may see that some people donate Rp 500, probably their savings or pocket money for the day. Very touching indeed.

Donations of quick to prepare food, like instant noodles, are of course very welcome because this food can be prepared easily in shelters. But victims also need additional nutrition, such as vegetables, protein, etc.

In addition to attempts to help them, we also have to make sure that we guide them to accept their fate and to cope with their grief. If not, victims will live in constant fear and may be haunted by nightmares for a long time.