Impact of severe trauma

After a crisis - like the Boxing Day Tsunami - the impact of trauma on people is severe.

This leads to post-traumatic stress disorder. More often than not every family is affected.

Many lose loved ones, their homes and livelihoods.

In situations of war, there are families devastated by conflict and sometimes torture. The psychological scars – plus the physical head injuries of conflict – can later manifest in the form of post traumatic stress and other psychiatric problems such as depression and psychosis.

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress include;

• flashbacks
  
• nightmares
  
• sleeplessness
  
• anxiety
  
• paranoia
  
• depression
  

Assma's story

When the tsunami struck Assma's village it killed her husband, leaving her alone and pregnant.

Assma developed post-traumatic stress disorder and become depressed.

Worse still, after the birth of her baby son Faji, the depression combined with the new stress of the baby and Assma began to exhibit symptoms of psychosis.

Slowly, Assma began to show animosity toward Faji, refusing to breastfeed or care for him. She also started hearing voices and hallucinating.

With no intervention, it wasn’t long before she began deluding that her husband was still alive, had swum to Malaysia and was working there.

Thankfully for Assma and Faji, CBM found her and was able to intervene.

“We took a bio-psychosocial approach,” says CBM Psychiatrist and Project Director in Aceh, Dr Andrew Mohanraj.

“This means beginning with a small dose of anti-psychotic medication AND encouraging her family and community to support her healing.”

In March of 2007, Assma was able to stop her medication and she and her child are healthy and well.

Facts about post-traumatic stress

• After a catastrophe, the incidence and severity of mental illness doubles.
• Post Tsunami, in Aceh 80% showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.