KATHMANDU,
More than 10 days after the 6.8 earthquake rocked Nepal, people in the country continue to talk the temblor, have cold feet and suffer from frequent nightmares.
Physical damages may have been fairly limited, but judging the psychological impact of the tremor is hard, experts say. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of people around the country haven’t completely gotten over the quake.
The earthquake is still a hot topic for discussion, even during casual conversations, while many say they can’t help feel that things around them are still shaking.
Dr Saroj Prasad Ojha, a psychiatrist at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), said people, especially women and the elderly, are meeting him with complains of fear and ‘anxiety disorder’.
Ojha said that a majority of the people have a lingering fear that another tremor might strike any time and thus start to feel that the ground beneath is shaking.
Sharada Neupane of Imadol said she could not sleep for several days after the quake on September 18 and that she always kept the doors of her house open. “I thought that if the quake returns, I could at least run outside quickly,” she said. She added that she still fears another quake will strike. Sarah Shrestha, an architect living in Kumaripati, said a slight movement of anything is enough to generate a quake fear in her.
Sita Rizal of Barbote in Ilam district, whose house collapsed in the earthquake, said she and other members of her family are constantly haunted by the fear of another quake, though the family is currently forced to stay in a tent outside. “My children still complain of dizziness and are mentally disturbed,” Rizal said.
With the kind of fear among the people, Ojha stressed on awareness on the possible psychological impact of a quake bigger than that of September 18. “We just pay attention to the physical damages and other aspects of earthquakes. However, people also go through a series of psychological problems, during and after the quake, which hinders them from going about their daily life,” Ojha said. Chhori Laxmi Maharjan, a psychologist, said post-traumatic complaints from children have gone up significantly after the quake.
“People need psychological first aid apart from the physical first aid,” Maharjan said. “Though the tremor didn’t affect much, it is high time the government prepare the people on the psychological aspects of earthquakes, the impact of which could be worse and stay longer.”
