Attacks could cause just as much distress as 2004 tsunami
The Bangkok bombings could inflict even deeper psychological trauma than the Andaman tsunami did a couple of years ago, the Mental Health Department warned yesterday.
"There is a culprit in the case of a man-made disaster, whereas there's none in a natural one hence [surviving] victims tend to find it easier to get over it," said department spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin. "And it'll also take a longer time to heal the scars in the minds of the [bombing] victims and their loved ones too," he said, likening the situation to the violence in the deep South. The first and second weeks following the blasts were the most critical phase of psychological damage, he said. In the aftermath of the tsunami, the public was calmed down considerably by dissemination of correct information about the disaster, but public panic over the bomb attacks would not ease unless the perpetrators were brought to justice, he said. "Unlike tsunamis, people have a feeling that it's unpredictable when and where the next explosive device will blow up. This makes them unable to cope with their fear [of a bomb]," he said. In this phase of dread and terror, three groups in society are of special concern - the young and elderly, the physically ill and the mentally ill, and patients who used to have a mental condition. People in the third group could suffer a deterioration of their mental state or have a flare-up of their former condition. Even a mentally fit adult could suffer psychological effects in the form of the "CNN syndrome" if he is exposed to constant news of the bombings. The term is a reference to people who were pschologically affectedt by the 9/11 news coverage showing the twin towers of the World Trade Centre collapsing in dust after being hit by passenger planes. "Of course, you need information for your own safety, but an overload could disturb your state of mind," he said. He added it was an instinctive reaction for people to keep watching for news after a terrible incident occurs, but they should try to limit it. The next phase would see careless rumours and malicious hoaxes, Taweesin warned. False reporting would crop up from edgy people speculating about the next attack, while practical jokes amounted to planting a new bomb in terms of the mental impact, he added. The department has opened a hotline at 1323, which is linked to 17 mental healthcare centres around the country, for those who need counselling.
Arthit Khwankhom The Nation
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