“Don’t Hurt While Helping Earthquake Victims” – Health News
AU Faculty of Medicine Department of Mental Health and Disease Lecturer Assoc. Dr. Ali Erdoğan explained that ordinary mental reactions can occur after extraordinary disasters such as earthquakes. associate Dr. Erdogan said they assessed these symptoms as normal mental reactions, not an illness in the first 1.5-2 months. Erdoğan stated that the thoughts of the earthquake victim of causing serious harm to themselves are causing problems, and stressed that the person should definitely seek help from a psychiatrist in this case.
CAUTION IF TRAUMA CONTINUES AFTER 2 MONTHS
associate Dr. “If the complaints of the same severity persist, he should definitely get support from a psychiatrist,” Erdogan said. Especially during earthquake periods, acute psychosocial assistance, meeting people’s physical needs, providing their shelter, nutrition, hygiene and basic needs are very important. This is the most fundamental element of psychosocial intervention. It is important for people’s mental health to be with the family or, if possible, with the people they love, to express and share their feelings during the earthquake, “he said.
NEGATIVE IMAGES ON SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE MENTAL HEALTH
Recalling the fact that there is a lot of sharing about the earthquake on social media, Assoc. Dr. Erdogan said: “We should not be exposed to negative images about the earthquake. Of course we have the right to be informed. We all want to receive news from the region, but I think it is more appropriate to follow it through official channels and news agencies. Because especially negative images can cause people to be more spiritually affected,” he said.
THE LAST Psychiatrists WILL LEAVE
Assoc. Dr. “After extraordinary disasters such as earthquakes, it can take years before they are hit. Because people lost loved ones, families, jobs, cities. Persons with mental health problems should not hesitate to consult psychiatrists. He should definitely seek help from a psychiatrist. Currently, nearly 1,000 volunteers from the Turkish Psychiatric Association are ready to serve in the region. Many of our volunteer friends provide services to earthquake victims in the region,” he said.
THE FEELING THAT IT WILL BE AN EARTHQUAKE AGAIN
Explain that a trauma and disaster outpatient clinic has been established to serve earthquake victims in Antalya, Assoc. Dr Ali Erdoğan said: “Our earthquake victims should not hesitate to get psychosocial help. As a trauma and disaster outpatient clinic, we have helped more than 500 earthquake victims. Insomnia is common. Symptoms such as irritability, crying, intolerance, especially ‘an earthquake will happen again’, worries such as checking light bulbs, constantly looking at chandeliers, anxiety and tightness are common. In the first 1.5 months, these symptoms are considered reactions to an extraordinary event. I definitely recommend that they get support from a psychiatrist,” he said.
Assoc. describes the instances in which he was struck during his interviews with earthquake victims. Dr. Ali Erdoğan said, “After the earthquake, I had my job, my wife, my family, my house, everything the day before. A day later, I woke up in the morning, neither my family, nor my wife, nor my city remained. I needed a sock,” he said. It was a really harsh response. Earthquake is very serious. In such cases, individuals suddenly lose everything,” he said.
‘It hurts their appearance’
Assoc. argues that it is necessary to act more sensitively when helping earthquake victims. Dr. Ali Erdoğan said: “We are, of course, a benevolent society. We are indeed an exemplary society in that respect, but it is very important not to hurt people when helping. I received the following feedback from the earthquake survivors I interviewed; “Yes, thanks to my teacher, they help. We are very happy, but it hurts when they look at us with pity.” In this regard, I recommend being careful and helping earthquake victims without hurting them. This psychosocial support is very important in terms of intervention,” he said.