Expatriates may tend to experience feeling of helplessness, says expert

Dubai - Millions of people have swarmed relief camps after the devastating floods. It is natural that post-traumatic stress disorder will hit flood victims as well as their relatives, say experts.

Anxiety, fear, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will now be common among flood victims and non-resident Keralites (NRKs) residing in the UAE, according to psychologists. Dubai-based counsellors have said that the stress and anxiety of worrying for loved ones back home and losing a big chunk of their material possessions will lead to feelings of grief, loss, and depression. 
Sailaja Menon, licensed psychologist at the Lifeworks Foundation, Wholistic Counselling Centre in Jumeirah and a member of a panel of psychologists providing counselling at the Indian Workers Resource Centre, spoke to Khaleej Times about the kinds of trauma people experience during a natural calamity. She also offered several recommendations on how people can overcome these feelings as well. 
"Feelings of grief and loss in this particular situation is a very normal reaction to an abnormal situation. People must first understand that they are going through a normal reaction and emotionally accept it." According to Menon, in the case of people who were physically present in Kerala during the floods, there are high chances they have PTSD. 
PTSD is a mental health disorder that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or even a sexual assault. "For people living here in the UAE, the dominant emotion is grief and loss. Malayalees in the UAE may tend to experience a feeling of helplessness," she added. 
Going forward, Malayalees may not perceive the monsoon season as something that is natural. "People might think what if there is another natural calamity? People are not going to look at rains as something that is regular. They are going to be anticipating the worst and people will start developing intense anxiety even if they see a picture of rain," Menon said. 
Feelings of fear and loss will transform into depression. "Due to the loss, people might suffer lack of motivation and have unwarranted anger. They will be angry towards life or even God," she said. "Victims will undergo the primary stages of grief and loss. Stage one would be shock, next would be denial, step three is anger and guilt, step four is despair and depression, stage five is bargaining, and finally stage six is acceptance. 
Seek counselling 
She clarified that grieving and loss are not just associated with death. "It is an intense emotional pain that people could very well experience through loss of property due to a natural calamity. Grieving after experiencing certain losses is a natural process, and there are certain basic benefits to it. We are learning to adjust and adapt to the process.
Flood victims could talk about how they are feeling with a loved one or a professional to adjust and adapt to the losses they have experienced," she added. 
Menon also stated that people who have suffered losses of this nature could take anything between to six months to a year to eventually accept the reality of their loss.
"It would be far more challenging for people who have lost their homes and have suffered the death of a loved one." 
However, Menon said that under no circumstance must victims leave matters unresolved by pushing it under a rug. "That would lead to immense psychological disorders," she added. 
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

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