Egepol Hospital Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ege Ece Birsel stated that natural disasters cause serious psychological traumas in people and said that it is important to provide early psychological counseling. Stating that major disasters such as earthquakes can negatively affect the mental health of the whole society watching the news on social media and on television, Ege Ece Birsel said: may cause inconvenience. It is important for the mental health of our society to take conscious measures for such mental problems that can be seen after natural disasters and to carry out early period psychological counseling and rehabilitation studies.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT MUST BE TAKEN
Noting that receiving psychosocial support in the early post-disaster period is very important for alleviating the psychological effects of trauma, Birsel said, “Psychological diseases related to trauma can cause loss of ability to cope with problems in the long-term after a disaster. Traumatized people affected by the disaster may be in various emotional states such as helplessness, fear, bewilderment, anxiety, re-experiencing the event, numbness, sadness, restlessness, feeling of being triggered at any moment, anger, and focusing problems. Emotions experienced after an earthquake are mostly normal emotional reactions and while all symptoms are experienced more intensely in the first weeks after the trauma, they tend to subside spontaneously in the following periods. If traumatic stress symptoms last longer than one month and increase instead of gradually decreasing, it can be seen as post-traumatic stress disorder. In this case, professional psychological and, if necessary, psychiatric help should be sought for post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the psychological problems of disasters.
HOW TO HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY THE DISASTER?
Stating that there are some duties that everyone in our society can do to help those affected by the situations experienced in the earthquake, Psychologist Ege Ece Birsel said, “First of all, these individuals are individuals whose sense of trust and control has been damaged and bruised. Therefore, it is among the priority things to do for them to calm down and feel safe. In this process, it is very valuable to ask and talk about needs and concerns, but it is important not to be too insistent on this issue and to ensure a dialogue without putting pressure on it. Social support and bonding with the victims' relatives are important factors in alleviating psychological trauma. It is very important for the individual to be in close contact with his loved ones and family members, and to be able to share the grief and pain experienced. However, it is healthier not to approach individuals with words such as "it's over now", "everything will be fine", "at least you're fine". Instead of making the wrong suggestion not to get upset, it is a healthier approach to express that they share their pain and establish empathy. If the intense sad feelings of the traumatic process cause difficulties in maintaining daily life, an intense decrease in the functionality of the individual, and this situation lasts longer than two weeks, it means that psychological counseling is essential.
KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM THE SCREEN!
Noting that children and adolescents are more affected by disasters, Birsel continued: “After the devastating effect of this earthquake, it is of great importance to meet the basic needs of children first and then to manage the psychological process correctly. While children's coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills are not yet fully developed, all emotional states experienced with earthquakes can be felt even more intensely. For children who are not in the earthquake zone, first of all, the decrease in the age of use of technology and the rapid spread of natural disaster videos and false or inappropriate images about the event may cause children and adolescents who use social media to be adversely affected. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent your children from being exposed to disaster images frequently and to spread educational visuals about earthquakes at a level that children can understand.
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