This study aims to establish a connection between disasters and their impact on mental health. An effort has been undertaken to reconsider the qualitative literature that is currently available on disaster and mental health in order to achieve this objective. In this essay, the idea of calamity and mental health has been employed in a broad way. Natural disasters, man-made disasters, and industrial disasters all have an impact on people's mental health in different ways. It looks at the behavioural and psychological signs of a functioning impairment following a disaster. Numerous protective variables have been identified, such as resilience and other coping mechanisms that increased the individual's capability while facing undesirable situations, have been identified. The success of post-disaster intervention methods is also emphasized. Enhancing the preparedness and empowering the community can help the disaster's vulnerable victims. Thus, efforts should be made for complete recuperation of the affected people.
TopIntroduction
Disasters, a natural part of modern life, are inevitable due to the complexity of our globalized, industrialized, and civilized society, spanning beyond acts of terrorism. A disaster is a significant disruption to a community or society, causing significant losses exceeding what can be reasonably recovered on its own (Bach et al 2013). The World Health Organization defines disasters as sudden ecological events requiring external assistance, with natural disasters like cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, and cyclones occurring due to natural causes. The author asserts that human actions lead to man-made disasters like industrial accidents, terrorism, political unrest, and military conflicts, yet our understanding of their causes remains limited. Disasters, such as flooding caused by climate change and deforestation, are influenced by a combination of socioeconomic and environmental factors, according to studies (Martin 2010). In a survey, how natural disasters affect people's mental health was discussed briefly (Saeed & Gargano 2022). A fundamental human right is mental health. Moreover, it is necessary for the advancement of society, the individual, and the economy. A person in good mental health may learn and work efficiently, overcome obstacles in life, realize their full potential, and contribute back to their community. It is an essential component of health and well-being that upholds our ability to make decisions, build relationships, and have an impact on the world around us both as people and as a society. More than just the absence of mental illnesses defines mental wellness. People might be predisposed to mental health issues by a variety of individual psychological and biological characteristics, including emotional intelligence, substance abuse, and heredity. On varying degrees, there are mental health hazards and protective variables in society. Report describes about psycho-social activity after disasters (Amiri& Jahanitabesh 2022). The frequency of mental health issues among populations affects by natural disasters on various continents (Keya et al 2023). A systematic review of the long-term mental health trajectories of disaster survivors and examines variations in the trajectories of symptoms for each of the three mental health conditions by age group and type of disasters and also identifies the precise risk and protective factors linked to the long-term mental health outcomes of survivors of disasters (Newnham et al 2022). Numerous protective variables have been found, such as resilience and other coping mechanisms that increased the person's ability to deal with difficult circumstances (Makwana 2019). Report says the natural disasters raised awareness of health problems that affects everyone worldwide and complicated day-to-day operations (Novia et al 2020). Finally, training is essential for everyone working in disaster assistance. It has been demonstrated how crucial it is for community level workers with training to carry out a coordinated effort to provide psychosocial relief (Kalpana 2010, Patwary et al 2023).
In this chapter, we address the types of disaster, methodology, psychological effects of disaster, psychosocial support during disasters in addition to describing the psychological outcomes, taking into account the numerous researches that concentrated on these topics and finally protective factors.