Garth Rattray | Psychological effect of earthquakes

For me, the recent 5.6-magnitude earthquake began with a violent ripple underfoot as I was at my desk interviewing a new female patient. Our eyes locked as if to mutually and silently verify that we were not imagining that we were feeling the earthquake.

The simultaneous, loud bass grumble heightened our awareness, and the vigorous side-to-side shaking interrupted the medical history taking. As the shaking and swaying intensified, I calmly ‘suggested’ that we go and stand under the nearby doorway. The violence continued, and I thought that the building could collapse if things got worse.

A staff member was beckoning to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ so loudly and so repetitively that I found it necessary to call out to her over and over again to keep calm. Truth be told, in retrospect, I realised that my efforts to calm others also helped to keep me focussed on their well-being and, therefore, focus less on my own anxiety. Thankfully, the shaking and swaying stopped, and everyone exchanged their personal feelings of the event. I was also aware of one of the ripple-like aftershocks that occurred later in the day.

Earthquakes are scary for several reasons. We are accustomed to having terra firma (the Latin phrase that literally means ‘firm land’) beneath our feet. This holds special significance for mariners and other people who travel by sea. Once they set foot on ‘solid’ ground, it represents the one thing that they can always trust, they feel very safe and secure. So, when terra is no longer firma, our entire world is turned upside down. Our minds lose trust in everything, and fear takes hold. When no one knows when things are going to get shaky, when it is impossible to predict how long or how hard the violence will continue, everyone fears being killed, and are grateful to our Heavenly Father if things work out okay.

MAJOR FAULT SYSTEM

Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic all lie astride the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone. It is a major fault system that bounds the Caribbean and North American plates…the Gonâve and Caribbean tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are always converging, this is why we have about 200 earthquakes each year. Thank God, we are not aware of the vast majority of them, and large quakes are rare.

Interestingly, Japan experiences about 1,500 earthquakes each year; more than anywhere else on the planet. On the other hand, Qatar only experiences about 0.04 earthquakes per year, and Antarctica experiences even less. However, no place is totally safe from earthquakes because we

occupy the crust of the Earth. The crust consists of (constantly shifting) plates that are floating on the soft, malleable mantle directly below.

Quakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates and can occur on land or at sea. If the quake occurs at sea, it can suddenly displace a large volume of water and cause a tsunami. The deadliest tsunami in history occurred on December 26 (Boxing Day) in 2004. It was caused by a 9.1-magnitude quake off the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia. That tsunami affected 14 countries and killed more than 230,000 people.

People often confuse tsunamis with tidal waves; but a tidal wave is only a ‘regularly reoccurring shallow water wave caused by effects of the gravitational interactions between the sun, moon, and earth on the ocean’. My mother recalls that, many years ago, a man saw a large wave approaching the shore of Greenwich Town. He panicked and took off running up the road while loudly shouting, “Tiga wave ah come! Tiga wave ah come!”

OVERWHELMED

After the recent quake, some emergency rooms were overwhelmed with patients who were having significant anxiety attacks. I understand that the University Hospital of the West Indies Accident and Emergency Department saw about 100 schoolchildren and 20 teachers. Some were hysterical, some had demonstrable changes in their vital statistics, and some were even held over for observation.

During earthquakes, it is natural for people to experience fear of varying degrees of personal injury or even death. People fear that there will be damage or loss of possessions or destruction of property. People fear for their family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and even acquaintances. Earthquakes are all about fear…reasonable fear. Acute psychological trauma can lead to long-term psychological issues.

Although it is expected that we will feel extremely frightened, fearful, and anxious (stressed out) during and after a scary event such as an earthquake, some people continue experiencing extreme, invasive, disabling memories, thoughts and feelings for over a month after the traumatic event. They may also have recurrent nightmares, lose sleep, have vivid flashbacks, become ‘depressed’ (perhaps even clinically depressed), withdraw emotionally, become moody, and even experience triggers of the event because something reminds them of the trauma. Those people have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

I was a guest on ‘The Morning Watch’ on Love 101 FM based on the topic of dealing with PTSD after an earthquake. It was hosted by Dr the Reverend Dylan Toussaint and the co-guest was consultant psychiatrist Dr Lorraine Barnaby. We discussed the stress-related symptoms mentioned above and the physical manifestations that can ensue. Dr Barnaby expounded on the crucial role of mental health professionals, and we ended by reiterating the urgent need for regular and frequent earthquake drills to mitigate the physical and emotional trauma.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.