Disaster mental health: A field study

Pages: 436-440
Atasi Mohanty (Center for Educational Technology, I.I.T., Kharagpur)

The present study was an attempt to examine the impact of landslide disaster on the life styles of common people in the hills of Darjeeling district in West Bengal of North-East India where it is a regular feature in rainy season. The primary objectives were to assess the mental health status of landslide victims, the probable causes and after-effects of this disaster. A sample of forty families, twenty victims and their families and twenty non-victims with their family members were taken for an in-depth study. A culture-fair mental health check list developed by Pramod Kumar and observation and interview schedules both prepared by the researcher were administered on the victims as well as non-victim samples. The findings revealed that the victims and non-victims didn’t differ significantly so far as the physiological symptoms (like headache, tiredness, disturbed sleep, indigestion and acidity etc.) are concerned. But the victims differed significantly from the non-victims with regard to their psychological symptoms such as anxiety, tension, restlessness, nervousness, loneliness, hopelessness, and anger. The observation and interview analyses of cases showed that the victims were suffering from traumatic stress due to many socio- economic factors like death of close ones and children, loss of home and property, loss of jobs, improper rehabilitation and relief, financial as well as emotional insecurities. The victims were utterly shocked by this trauma and these fearful thoughts were still embedded in their mind for a quite long time. However, in general the mental health status of villagers in this region was not satisfactory and they were in need of proper rehabilitation and counseling. Besides this, the researcher also examined the root cause of these frequently occurring landslides in the region and suggested some remedial steps. It has been realized that though it may not be possible to prevent natural disasters, but these can certainly be tackled in a better way by adopting certain strategies like eco-friendly lifestyle, adequate preparedness to absorb the shock and proper counseling and rehabilitation for the people.