By BY EULALEE THOMPSON

HURRICANE IVAN had his own way, this past weekend, pounding roofs, smashing in windows and uprooting ackee and mango trees. But, that wasn't all he did ­ he also battered our mental health, at the individual and national levels.

Even before the hurricane the national mental health was suffering a series of psychological blows related to the hurricane. These were identified by Dr. E. Anthony Allen, consultant psychiatrist and consultant in whole person health, as trauma, sense of loss, dislocation and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To understand the trauma, he said that we have "to begin at the beginning".

"We have to look at what happened in Florida (the week before with Frances). People had relatives there, so there was that anxiety. Then we had battened down for (Hurricane) Charlie, it didn't come but it did hit St. Elizabeth. Then from last Wednesday there was the threat of Ivan, the heavy rains... There was the anxiety there ­ the gridlock in many centres... the battening down, not being sure when the hurricane coming, we heard it was Thursday evening, then it was Friday morning, then it finally came Friday night when we were asleep," Dr. Allen said.

Trauma heaped upon trauma when the weather experts kept warning that this was one of the most terrible hurricanes ever, that it was a category five then four then five, and when the hurricane finally came, unlike Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, it 'sat' on the island for more than 15 long hours from Friday afternoon and into Saturday, pounding houses while everyone cowered inside, uncertain about what exactly was happening outside. More trauma was inflicted when people suffered loss of roofs and other damage to their homes and other possessions.

Dr. Allen identified five stages of the trauma:

1. The denial that the hurricane was actually coming then finally accepting that 'Ivan the Terrible' was really going to hit.

2. Preparation for the hurricane.

3. The experience of the hurricane.

4. The aftermath of the hurricane ­ where people are busy fixing damaged propery and preoccupied with getting back to normality.

5. Then the inconvenience ­ this dislocation will continue for many years.

When citizens, in the preparation stage, had to evacuate, leaving behind personal possessions, not knowing if they would see them again, this brought on the feeling of a sense of loss.

"We saw images of people in Port Royal, and other coastline areas, walking with their little bags of possessions to the shelters ­ there was the sense of loss. The sense of loss continues with people seeing the damage with the continued landslides and mudslides, the whole aspect of damage, things lost. Then there is the aspect of not having water or light. Right now in some cases, the water is in the tap but it is ... muddy, so even if you have a tank, the water in the tank is being contaminated," Dr. Allen said.

DISLOCATION

The feeling of dislocation is also being experienced now by many Jamaicans. People had spent time wrapping up their possessions in plastic, taping up the windows, putting up shutters and so, now even if there was no damage to property, they have to spend time unpacking, re-organising their lives and chopping away at fallen trees. Dr. Allen also identified further dislocation among persons who are self-employed now losing income and the country as a whole losing production and income.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Some people will also experience varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"For all of us it was a potentially life-threatening experience. If it had been a direct hit, I think few of us were not thinking that our lives could have been lost. In PTSD, there will be reliving of the trauma and flashbacks. If a little breeze blows, this could remind us of the storm and we will relive the anxiety, sense of numbness, some people will be feeling distant from the environment, suffer insomnia, lack of sleep, feeling tense and stressed out," Dr. Allen said.

Dealing with the trauma

ONE WAY to deal with the post-Hurricane Ivan trauma, according to Dr. E. Anthony Allen, consultant psychiatrist, is to be cognisant of the stages of loss. The five stages are:

1. Denial ­ numbness, feeling separate from reality.

2. Anger ­ asking, 'why did this happen to me?'

3. Bargaining ­ saying things like, 'Maybe if I had done this or that' or 'Maybe if I had taken other measures this wouldn't have happened to me'.

4. Depression ­ many people will be going through this.

5. Acceptance.

Some people, he said, will be going back and forth through these various stages and it will take time for people to go through these stages.

OTHER TIPS TO GET THROUGH THIS POST-HURRICANE IVAN PERIOD:

Share your feelings with others,'How did you feel during the trauma of the hurricane and how are you feeling now?'. "I must commend the electronic media for doing an excellent job in allowing people to call in and share how they were feeling and this was done in an atmosphere of empathy," Dr. Allen said.

Continue with the phone calling ­ people should call each other and say how the event was for them and how they felt.

Look out for the elderly.

Pay attention to children; they may have difficulty articulating their feelings, so help them.

It's time to end family quarrels and community feuds; bury the hatchet and focus on one another.

At a practical level, form work crews to clear the roads.

Reach out at the emotional level and in a spirit of social support to persons in shelters.

People feel that God spared us. Churches should hold services of thanksgiving and hold focus group meetings to give people a sense of solidarity and to help them share their feelings.

General practitioners should become aware that more clients will see them for conditions related to stress, coping with loss and trauma.

Workplaces should recognise that their employees are experiencing dislocation, trauma and loss; help them to debrief, share their feelings and feel supported. This will directly impact productivity.

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