PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTER
Savings a person's life is not only about saving his body but also his soul. When a disaster happens, the damage is not just physically but also mentally. The mind-body effect is believed to make more of an impact upon some health conditions than on others. It works best with psychogenic problems, like depression, anxiety, headaches, asthma, moderate hypertension, fatigue and gastrointestinal symptoms. It is also remarkably effective as a painkiller. And, has some influence on the immune system.
The mental and emotional effects of natural disasters may not be apparent at first. This is because the first reaction is to take care of the physical damage. In a state of emergency, people need to be rescued and their physical safety is of first concern. Efforts are focused on cleaning up, rebuilding and providing shelter. Because there are so many things that need to be taken care of, many people have to put their emotions on the back burner while they deal with the physical damage. Once the houses are rebuilt and the destruction is cleaned up, emotional trauma begins to emerge
MERAPI VICTIMS
According to the media, about 330 evacuees of Mount Merapi disaster victims who are accommodated at the Stadium Maguwoharjo, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, experiencing psychological disorders. The coordinator of the Psychology Section Maguwoharjo Retno Kumolohadi Refugee Camp, in Sleman, claims that till 10 November 2010, as many as 330 refugees experiencing psychological disorders, and the number could still increase, because recent data are still counted. He said that of that number, 132 refugees of whom experience anxiety, psychosomatic 107 people, psikosisresidual 39 people, and insomnia 50.
From the information my friends and I got at the Psychology Section at Maguwoharjo camp, there are two types of refugees there. First is the victims where they loss something because of the disaster whether it is their loves one or their properties. The second type is evacuees. They did not loss anything but they have to evacuate as their home is in the danger zone.
FACTORS
There are many factors that triggers psychological problem, whether it is due to the disaster itself or condition after the disaster. Due to the traumatic experience, the refugees encounter anxiety, depresses, panic attack and easily feel scared. The children will easily be scared by the thunder or flashes of camera. While some of them feel depressed thinking about their house, properties in it, their farms and animals, and also they lost their source of income.
As for the impact after disaster, the psychological effect they went through is due to the condition at the camp itself. The uncomfortable feeling is due to loss of privacy, sharing toilets, waiting a long queue for food and boredom due to lack of activity. Besides that, the uncertainty about when they can go home or where will they be placed in the future is also a stressor. The most common psychological problem is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
REMEDY
Besides than medication alone, the National Institute of Mental Health concluded that “talk” therapy as one of the main treatments for PTSD, though each person has different way of therapy. However, this means that by just talking with the refugees, listen to what they are thinking, feeling and worried about can help overcome their PTSD. If we are approach them in a right way, we might also correct the way they think from negative thinking to a positive one.
There are also several programs and activities that have been held to fill in their free time. Those who like to draw and color are given the paint to do so. Some of them also have guitars to play songs with it. Last Saturday, the children are brought to the zoo and the women are invited to join a sewing class. Some refugees also started to help cooking. As long as they have something to do, it can keep their mind off from thinking about the frightening event and worries about the future.
CONCLUSION
The healing process is not a quick one. Wounds needs time to heal. It may take about months and up till years but the most important thing is one can never lose hope. When there is a will, there is a way. Wassalam
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