The Sunday Mail
Cyprian Foya
AS an unready world grapples with the effects of a marauding pandemic, the evidently overwhelmed medical fraternity has prioritised vaccination and treatment thereby neglecting survivors.
This commentary calls for more attention to early interventions and efforts to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Covid-19 survivors. Stress-related illnesses are generally treated as alien in this part of the world. Those who suffer from the stress-related illnesses are left to face their illness alone.
In worst case scenarios they are treated as mental patients, a condition that often attracts derision and scorn.
Often, this frightens the sufferers away from opening up or seeking medical help.
They develop feelings of helplessness, which leads to simple stress developing into trauma. Trauma is far more misunderstood than many of us realise. It is more than just stress, it is about adverse events and how they affect the mind and how individuals deal with them.
While mental disorders affect first responders, healthcare givers, medical examiners and hospital personnel, research has shown that survivors of serious illness are often the most affected.
Most of them suffer quietly.
Oftentimes, they are unaware that they are suffering from a serious medical condition.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
PTSD is a common pathological outcome of a wide variety of traumatic events, from wars and natural disasters to individual events such as road traffic accidents.
Patients with PTSD survive under the shadow of past trauma.
Known symptoms of PTSD include:
◆ Persistent intrusion symptoms;
◆ Persistent avoidance of stimuli;
◆ Negative alterations in cognition or mood; and
◆ Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity.
All of these symptoms are associated with experiencing a traumatic event.
PTSD results in clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
How Covid-19 survivors are exposed to psychological trauma
There are a number of scientifically identified stressors that lead to traumatic stress disorders and these range from:
◆ Severe illness;
◆ Social isolation;
◆ Witnessing death of a loved one;
◆ Loss of income;
◆ Extreme exposure to Covid-19 details including negative social media content;
◆ Stigma;
◆ Anxiety and unrealistic fear of reinfection.
Terrifying close brushes with death, witnessing the devastation of loved ones and the characteristic disease symptoms themselves may be overwhelming even to the mentally strongest. Being unable to breathe is the most traumatic event you can imagine.
Once you are out of breath, it is a top tier example of human inadequacy, a sense of helplessness will immediately kick in.
This often pushes intense stress to the realm of trauma. The medical routine of having critically ill people check their own oxygen levels is another torturous experience that Covid-19 patients endure.
Imagine having to measure the amount of life left in you while lying helplessly in isolation.
Prevention of PTSD for victims of Covid-19
Systematic intervention studies targeted at the prevention of PTSD after diseases are unavailable, but the following support guidelines have been recommended:
- Providing specialised mental health intervention for severely affected survivors.
- Restoring basic services and security for the affected population.
- Strengthening family and community networks.
- Providing distressed individuals with psycho-social support.
- Providing counselling service to the general population.
Confirming the prevalence of PTDS amongst Covid-19 survivors, Marondera-based medical practitioner Dr Farayi Dzuda said his private surgery was overwhelmed by fully recovered people showing manifestation of anxiety and other mental disorders.
Dr Dzuda says there is serious need for post-Covid counselling.
The pandemic has not spared anyone.
Everyone has been affected either directly or indirectly and the need for support differs from one case to the next.
Be your brother’s keeper!
Be on the lookout for those suffering quietly.
As the spread of the virus subsides in Zimbabwe, medical practitioners, religious leaders and Government must now focus on rehabilitating the traumatised survivors.
More needs to be done to raise public awareness on PTSD.
Cyprian Foya is a freelance writer and a Covid-19 survivor recovering from PTSD.
