When the earthquakes struck Nepal almost a month ago, attention focused on the thousands of lives lost, and all the damage that had been done. Disaster relief organizations quickly took action, and with an outpouring of donations from around the world, help came in the form of basic necessities like medical aid, food, and water. But what about the mental toll of such a disaster? In the powerful article "Let’s Stop Nepal’s Mental Health Crisis Before It Happens", the author emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health in the wake of such a disaster and highlights ways that we may be able to intervene and address trauma, to not only help such populations cope, but to prevent long-term mental health consequences as well.
"Everybody expects that survivors will be traumatized by a disaster. But few relief groups specifically address the mental toll of disasters—both natural and man-made. That’s because mental wounds are, in many ways, more difficult to treat than physical ones: They can’t be set right like broken bones, they can’t be inoculated with shots, and they can only be numbed for so long with pills. This makes mental care hard to plan for and hard to raise money for, because its indefinite successes and indeterminate timetables aren’t as appealing to the donors that fund disaster response.
It’s crucial, though, to address survivors’ mental health early and often. These people may not carry their wounds physically at first, but the problems do eventually manifest. If stress goes untreated, it can sabotage short term gains by letting PTSD, anxiety and depression fester. And those can lead to more tangible threats, like diabetes, hypertension, and stroke."
"Everybody expects that survivors will be traumatized by a disaster. But few relief groups specifically address the mental toll of disasters—both natural and man-made. That’s because mental wounds are, in many ways, more difficult to treat than physical ones: They can’t be set right like broken bones, they can’t be inoculated with shots, and they can only be numbed for so long with pills. This makes mental care hard to plan for and hard to raise money for, because its indefinite successes and indeterminate timetables aren’t as appealing to the donors that fund disaster response.
It’s crucial, though, to address survivors’ mental health early and often. These people may not carry their wounds physically at first, but the problems do eventually manifest. If stress goes untreated, it can sabotage short term gains by letting PTSD, anxiety and depression fester. And those can lead to more tangible threats, like diabetes, hypertension, and stroke."
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