Essay Sample on Mental Illness and Disaster Management

Introduction

Mental illness is a health problem characterized by a change in emotional reactions and thinking behaviors. It can be used to describe a wide range of conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, addiction and eating difficulties (Mayo Clinic, 2008). Research shows that nearly 19% of Americans suffer some mental illness at a point of their life and up to 4.1% suffer severe mental conditions(Mayo Clinic, 2008). Some causes of critical mental illnesses include extreme environmental exposures before, during and after birth, inherited traits of psychiatric conditions and brain problems.

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Some of the risk factors for mental illnesses are stressful conditions, chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, brain damage that might have been caused by injury or trauma, alcohol and drug abuse, a previous case of mental issues, unhealthy relationship behaviors and neglect. Mental illnesses can be a cause of many social problems such as conflicts in the family, having difficulties in relationships, tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and poverty, financial problems a weakened immune system. Some people extreme mental can do inflict harm to their bodies, or even consider homicide and suicide (Mayo Clinic, 2008).

A mentally sick person suffers the same trauma and pain an average person would in case of disaster. They also feel physical pain. However, their reaction to the tragedy may be different because their brains may perceive issues differently from that of an average person. It is therefore advisable to take extra care when trying to save a mentally ill person from disaster. This paper discusses some of the reactions of a mentally ill person to tragedy; some obstacles met when evacuating them. It also looks at assistance that may be necessary to tackle mental illness in case of a disaster.

Response to Emergency

People with mental disorders usually get shocked more by a disaster. They have a lower ability to absorb shocks, and hence an emergency can send them into a state of terrible panic and confusion that can be more detrimental to their health(Math et al. 2015). Mentally ill people are very vulnerable in times of disaster. Their inability to absorb disaster shocks makes them very unstable, unable to think and for that reason they can get more harm than their counterparts in their normal mental states. They can become very irrational in their decisions and moves hence endangering the well-being of everyone in the scene of the disaster. It is necessary to ensure that mentally ill people are not in congested areas as this could confuse them more, making them lose their sobriety and hence causing them much harm that could have otherwise been avoided. Having a mentally ill person in a noisy environment can also be a cause of a problem for them. Loud noise ringing in their brains would most likely interfere with any sense of judgment they have, making them unable to save themselves.

Evacuation of Mentally Impaired People

When evacuating persons with mental illnesses, it is advisable to understand their conditions and identify their psychic abilities. Knowledge of their skills will help one to know how to help them. The process of evacuating a mentally unhealthy person starts by one calming them down and assuring them that everything is under control as this will help prevent them from panicking and making random movements. Once they are settled, they will then be transferred to safer environments following an organized order. However, this may never be so easy (Math et al. 2015). Some of the obstacles faced in evacuating mentally impaired people include their inability to make proper judgments, lack of preparedness to handle people of their condition and qualified personnel to control them and grief.

Inability to Make Proper Judgments

Failure to make proper judgments by the mentally impaired persons is a big point of concern for everyone going to evacuate mentally disabled people from disaster. These people have low mental capability, and hence they are quickly thrown out of balance by any little kind of stress. They can, therefore, develop tension; get so distressed and unreasonable, making it very difficult to rescue them. Improper judgments among them can make them move straight into the source of danger, making them get hurt the more (Silove et al. 2006). It is advisable to find a person they love to come for their rescue. However, in most cases, their loved ones may not be in sight. In their non-sober state, they may not identify safety warnings or equipment. In some cases, the mentally ill person may have to be forcefully evicted from the building in danger since they may not move out by themselves.

Lack of Preparedness

Nobody anticipates disaster, and therefore it comes when we are least prepared for it, a state which makes it more dangerous when mentally impaired people are involved. The kind of preparedness that would be beneficial to the mentally impaired would include professionals and their loved ones. As we had seen earlier, a calm and quiet environment with few people is what is needed to rescue the mentally impaired (Silove et al. 2006). Their loved ones and families are important because they understand each other and it will be easy to get them calm. It also assures them that they are in safe hands; therefore, no need to panic.

Difficulty Identifying the Mentally Impaired People

Some cases of mental conditions may never be identified because they do not show signs so often. For example, a person suffering stress or depression is mentally impaired, but he or she can hide this condition such that nobody will ever suspect. Such kinds of mental states may present themselves in people, but because nobody knows, it will not be easy identifying who needs help and who doesn't (Silove et al. 2006). By the time we realize that someone is mentally challenged, it is usually too late, and the person might already be in extreme danger.

Grief

Sometimes a tragedy happens in a building with a family in it. Unfortunately, a mentally impaired person is part of that family. People get trapped inside, and when rescue comes, the person is reached, but he/she cannot see his family. It will get difficult to rescue the mentally ill person because he/she will want to see other members of the family. It gets even more difficult if it is a continuous disaster such as a fire or floods. They will be very emotional, wanting an assurance that their people are safe before they can go anywhere. Such grief makes if very tricky trying to evacuate a mentally impaired person.

Evacuating the mentally impaired individuals require mental health professionals such as disaster counseling team and psychiatrists, and family (Psych Central. 2018). The health care professionals may offer counseling and psychiatric services to the mentally impaired persons. Post-tragedy advice is necessary for both mentally challenged people and also people who are mentally okay. It helps reduce the impact of the disaster on the brain such as trauma and depression and stress; it also reduces anxiety and panic. It is also necessary to offer psychiatric services to the affected people to calm down and assure them that the situation is under control. Health professionals should come equipped with sedatives to reduce anxiety symptoms (Psych Central. 2018). Love from family and friends help the mentally impaired heal faster from shocks due to the tragedy. Their passion helps reduce any detrimental side effect that may arise such as death or madness. Research by the Indian Psychological Medicine on mental illness showed that people living in areas prone to disasters such as earthquakes and floods had twice prevalence levels for mentally impaired people (Math et al. 2015). The results of this research are important reasons for offering rigorous counseling to the victims and survivors of a disaster.

Conclusion

Usually, the best way to manage a disaster of any kind is based on training of disaster management practices, organizing periodic drills and installation of the right equipment. However, these may not be very effective in case the involved persons have mental illnesses. They will lose their sobriety, and therefore their sense of judgment gets impaired. They will need the assistance of other people to help them as they can't help themselves. It is also important to acknowledge that mental illness affects nearly all of us at some point in our lives and therefore we should find remedies measure before it gets too extreme. We should be caring to the people around us so that we can identify any change in their behaviors.

References

Math, S., Nirmala, M., Moirangthem, S., & Kumar, N. (2015). Disaster management: Mental health perspective. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 37(3), 261. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.162915

Mayo Clinic. (2018, February 24). Enfermedad mental - Sintomas y causes - Mayo Clinic.Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-20374968

psych central. (2018, August 8). Disaster Plans Should Include Those with Mental Illness. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/news/2011/05/24/disaster-plans-should-include-those-with-mental-illness/26432.html

Silove, D., Steel, Z., &Psychol, M. (2006). Understanding community psychosocial needs after disasters: implications for mental health services. Journal of postgraduate medicine, 52(2), 121.