Chapter
Psychiatric Emergencies in Disaster Situations
Sumathipala, A.
2017.
T. Rangaswamy & L. Vijayakumar (Eds.),
Emergencies in psychiatry in low- and middle-income countries (pp. 94-103).
Routledge.
ISBN: 978-1-315-38125-1
doi:
Disasters are extraordinary events that cause destruction, death, displacement, disappearance, and disarray. All of these have serious and considerable implications for those who survive. There can be varying degrees of legitimate distress arising out of this extraordinary experience. It is very unlikely that anyone who faces a disaster remains emotionally unaffected by the experience. Hence, for most, there will invariably be psychological and behavioral implications that will have an impact on their day-to-day life. However, the majority will go through the adverse experience without medium- or long-term overwhelming psychological consequences and will come to terms with their losses over a variable period of time. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the normal reaction to an extraordinary event such as a disaster.