How to carry out psychological assistance after a major disaster
2022-03-25
Sudden disasters can cause acute psychological trauma such as tension, anxiety, fear and anger. How to scientifically provide psychological assistance to disaster victims? How to reduce their psychological trauma? Pan Weigang, deputy chief psychiatrist of Beijing Anding Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, has participated in national psychological crisis intervention and rescue work for many times. Our reporter interviewed him on relevant issues. Post disaster stress response varies from person to person Reporter: what kind of psychological impact will a major disaster like flight crash have on people? Pan Weigang: major disaster events often have the characteristics of sudden, unpredictable and serious harm. For everyone, they are a kind of stress, which will lead to different degrees of emotional, physiological, cognitive and behavioral abnormalities. Before the disaster, we have a certain sense of control over our environment. Sudden disasters will make us lose this sense of control for a short time, and many people will feel powerless, helpless and hopeless. Because everyone's past experience, traumatic experience and other factors are different, their psychological tolerance is also different. Some people recover quickly after traumatic events, while others may recover slowly, and even have a sequelae - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People's emotions after disasters are generally negative. Fear, anxiety, tension, sadness, fear, pain, anger, depression, numbness, insomnia, etc. are all normal reactions. There is no need to deny it. Instead, we should recognize and understand our emotions, recognize and accept our emotional state. After the disaster, the first priority is life rescue, so "life first" is the first principle, and psychological rescue should be integrated into the whole rescue system. Generally speaking, after a major disaster, relevant departments will systematically and uniformly send professional psychological rescue teams to stabilize the mood of disaster victims through professional counseling and avoid secondary harm to them. Reporter: the impact of disasters on different groups is different. How to carry out classified rescue? Pan Weigang: disaster events will affect many people, but not all people who experience disasters need psychological assistance. According to the different psychological impact of disaster events on different groups, people in need of rescue are generally divided into three categories. The first group includes survivors, families and relatives of the victims. Such people are usually the most affected by disasters. Especially the survivors, because of the impact of the disaster on their hearts, many will have negative emotions such as fear, helplessness and sadness. The second group includes front-line rescue workers who come to the disaster site in person, including commanders, medical staff, media reporters, etc. The front-line rescue workers witnessed traumatic images in the rescue process. Their empathy makes them experience similar pain, and they are prone to loss, frustration, panic, irritability and other emotions. The third group refers to other personnel related to disaster events, including relevant practitioners and people who have heard and witnessed the pictures after the disaster. After witnessing the pictures of the disaster through the Internet, television, newspapers and other media, these people may also have various negative emotional reactions. In addition, rescuers will pay special attention to the elderly, children and pregnant women. If it is not very necessary, do not take children through post disaster accident treatment. Children, especially children under the age of 6, cannot fully understand the meaning of death, so as to avoid leaving psychological trauma to children. The scope of psychological rescue is wide Reporter: how is the front-line psychological rescue carried out? Pan Weigang: many people think the scope of psychological rescue is narrow. In the post earthquake rescue, a psychological rescue worker told us that he had been here for three or four days and what he had done did not belong to the scope of psychological assistance. So what did he do? Help the victims to the resettlement site, send them instant noodles and other materials, and help them communicate the specific situation of resettlement. In fact, these are also part of psychological rescue. After the disaster, a special department or working group will connect with the families of the victims and take them to the resettlement site to ensure that their basic life is guaranteed, such as providing food and safe shelter so that they can get medical assistance in time. At the same time, regularly release information through official channels, and provide one-to-one support for family members. This is the key to social stability in psychological rescue, that is to say, these works make the families of the victims see, hear and feel through various channels in a unified command, coordinated and orderly manner, which will gradually make them come out of the impact of the disaster. Reporter: if a major stimulus causes a psychological crisis, how to deal with it? People's psychological performance is different in the face of major events. At this time, in addition to taking good care of their basic living needs, psychological rescuers should mainly accompany, support, listen and empathize, give survivors, victims and their families a sense of security and stability, and help them vent their emotions appropriately. In psychology, there is a word called "mourning reaction", that is, the psychological reaction caused by the death of close relatives. Generally speaking, at this time, people will go through four stages: denial, anger, depression and acceptance. In the first three stages, people may be numb and sluggish, and even show that they don't know how to eat and can't do anything. At this time, psychological rescuers should take good care of their daily life, guide them to establish links with their surroundings, help them solve all problems within their power, and accompany them through this difficult period smoothly. The disaster has brought a heavy blow to mankind and cast a shadow on the individual's spiritual world, which is what psychological rescue work needs to resolve. In the face of major emergencies, people's psychological crisis is generally short-lived. If the crisis is not handled properly, it may be postponed to a chronic state. At present, according to the severity of psychological crisis, it is generally divided into three types: mild psychological disorders, such as insomnia, tension, fear, worry, anger and sadness. Most of these states are short-lived, and generally can return to normal without special treatment; Moderate psychological disorders, such as insomnia and anxiety lasting for one month, may affect work and life although they do not meet the diagnostic criteria of mental disorders. If self-regulation still cannot be changed, psychological and medical intervention is needed; Severe psychological disorders, which can produce mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, depression disorder, etc., need special treatment and treatment. Empathy makes people feel it Reporter: how to help rescue workers adjust their psychology? Pan Weigang: Generally speaking, when a disaster occurs, the rescue work is race against time. The front-line rescue personnel are highly focused in the rescue process. They often work continuously for several hours without taking care of rest. After a long time, people may be exhausted. It is often difficult to avoid this situation in the early stage of rescue, but in order to avoid excessive fatigue of rescue workers, they should be arranged to rest and take turns when appropriate. If conditions permit, it is best to take a rest at a place slightly away from the disaster site to relieve their tension caused by the disaster site. At the same time, rescue workers are encouraged to share their rescue feelings with their teammates. Whether they are worried about anxiety, anger or guilt, they should tell their feelings, which is very important for their mental health. Sleep is very important for the human body. Once you don't rest well, people will have a lot of strong emotional reactions, which will have a great impact on people's emotional experience. Therefore, all personnel related to disaster events should pay attention to rest. Reporter: do you have any suggestions for people who are concerned about disaster events? Pan Weigang: whenever a sudden disaster occurs, the overwhelming information from all parties will make many netizens fall into shock, worry, grief and other emotions. People keep refreshing the page and are eager to know more and updated relevant news, which will make us sink deeper and deeper in negative emotions. This is a normal phenomenon. Because people have the ability of empathy and feel the sadness and anxiety of others, people are easy to empathize, resulting in the psychological "alternative trauma" reaction, mainly manifested in irritability, tension, sleep disorder, insomnia, inattention and so on. In this case, we should actively do a good job in self-regulation. First of all, reduce the intake of negative information on the information source and minimize the exposure to information or pictures that will cause their own strong emotional reaction or discomfort. Secondly, we should ensure our normal life order, maintain a regular work and rest, exercise and entertainment appropriately, do something we like calmly and concretely, and experience our sense of control over life, so that people's mood can be soothed slowly. If you can't adjust yourself, you must seek professional help in time. With the support and help of professional workers, you can get out of the "alternative trauma" reaction as soon as possible. (outlook new era)
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
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