By Jeffrey Kluger Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010
Article sourced from Time
The scale of the earthquake devastation in Haiti is all but impossible to measure accurately now. Eventually, it will be reduced to hard numbers: so many people killed, so many buildings destroyed, so much wealth and infrastructure lost. There will, however, be invisible injuries too — to the psyches of the survivors. Emotional wounds may be the slowest to develop, but they can also be among the toughest to heal.
It may seem premature to think about now, but Haitians who survive the horrific earthquake will be at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Americans have become increasingly familiar with PTSD in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, not to mention in the experiences of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — who have suffered such symptoms as depression, anxiety, emotional numbing, sleep difficulties, substance abuse and more. The Veterans Administration estimates that 7% to 8% of the U.S. population will suffer from the disorder at some point and 5.2 million Americans experience it in a given year.
The way individuals or an entire culture respond initially to a trauma is not necessarily an indicator of whether they’re likely to develop PTSD — though it never hurts to get feelings out in the open early. The Russians and British are famously stoic sufferers. Americans are more candid about what they’re feeling. Haitians are better still.
Read full article: Time.com
Tags: Emergency, Haiti
Besides donating my own money to Haiti, I will continue to pray for them. Lifting everything up to Heaven for them.