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It is generally believed that people who need psychiatric treatment are vulnerable to stress. Therefore, stressful disaster-caused conditions impose a considerable burden on these people.
Moreover, in evacuation centers medications are often stopped because it becomes difficult to obtain the medicines. This can lead to exacerbating the person's symptoms. Also, some mentally ill persons have difficulty in following the rules of communal living or keeping pace with others. Such persons might get involved in troubles over interpersonal relationships.
Nurses should talk individually with the mentally ill and their family members about their daily needs and self-care conditions, so as to prevent these individuals from becoming isolated. If necessary, talk with community leaders or other appropriate persons in the shelter about the individual's conditions, and make necessary arrangements so that the individual can live in a group. It should also be noted that disclosing the fact that the individual is receiving psychiatric treatment might cause other evacuees to feel uneasy or uncomfortable, resulting in that person becoming even more isolated. It is therefore necessary to handle personal information with extreme care.
If psychiatric symptoms shown in the following table are recognized or suspected, refer the person to a mental care specialist or psychiatric clinic as soon as possible. It is also important to ensure that people who were under treatment before the disaster can be medicated without interruption.
For details of IES-R (Impact of Event Scale-Revised), refer to the following document. |
Typical psychiatric symptoms
* Holding false beliefs/perceptions (Delusion)
* Can see or hear things that are not there. (Hallucination)
* Incoherent speech or confused behaviors (Disturbance of thought)
* Difficulty in organizing thoughts; repeating the same things over and over (Disturbance of thought)
* Detachment from others; diminished activity (Depression)
* Persistent low mood (Depression)
* Loss of motivation/desire for any activities; difficulty concentrating (Depression)
* Reduced ability to feel emotions; flat emotions (Depression)
* Anxieties that have no apparent causes (Depression)
* Lack of facial expressions (Depression)
* Insomnia; loss of appetite (Depression)
* Physical complaints (headaches, etc.) for which no medical causes are apparent (Depression)
* Thoughts of suicide (Depression)
* Restlessness; cannot stay still (Anxiety)
* Impatience (Anxiety)
* Aggression toward others (Anxiety)
* Autonomic nervous system symptoms, such as palpitations, perspiration (Anxiety)
* Obsession with certain things; repetitive checking activities (Compulsion)
* Prolonged exaltation; loquacity/hyperactivity (Manic state)
* Excessive interference with others (Manic state) |
Note: There are many other psychotic manifestations other than those listed above
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