Disaster aftermathLost in the numbers: The hidden traumas of disaster

Published 15 February 2018

In the aftermath of disasters – hurricanes, earthquakes, epidemics, armed conflict, and the like – it is difficult to describe the true extent of damage wrought on society. Lost in these numbers is a hidden trauma that is difficult to measure, even when it is diagnosed. Disasters affect the mental health not only of those directly impacted by the disaster, but of those everywhere the disaster causes distress. Mental trauma is widespread, affecting far more people than physical injury. Long after physical wounds heal, mental trauma remains. Failing to address mental trauma neglects the well-being of tens of thousands of Americans, and millions more around the globe, each year.

In the aftermath of disasters – hurricanes, earthquakes, epidemics, armed conflict, and the like – it is difficult to describe the true extent of damage wrought on society. Statistics on deaths, injuries, the number of destroyed buildings, and, after a few days, estimates of economic losses, are most commonly reported. Occasionally, as was the case with Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the number of people left without poweris a telling statistic. Governments and media use these facts, numbers, statistics and counts because it is a quantifiable way to understand the otherwise unfathomable.

Lost in these numbers, however, is a hidden trauma that is difficult to measure, even when it is diagnosed. Disasters affect the mental health not only of those directly impacted by the disaster, but of those everywhere the disaster causes distress. Mental trauma is widespread, affecting far more people than physical injury. Long after physical wounds heal, mental trauma remains.

It is important to understand how disasters affect mental health because effective preparedness for and response to disaster requires dedicated resources for mental trauma. Failing to address mental trauma neglects the well-being of tens of thousands of Americans, and millions more around the globe, each year.

How disaster causes mental trauma
TAMU notes that there are many ways that mental trauma can manifest. Nearly everyone affected by disaster will experience stress in some way, either brought on by personal injury, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a home, some combination of these events or something else entirely. For most, it will amount only to acute stress, causing short-term discomfort, and everything from apathy to despair. This initial stress does not always manifest as a mental trauma, or ultimately a mental disorder.

At its worst, however, the stress can cause mental trauma that leads to persistent conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), major depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Substance Use Disorder and Panic Disorder, among others.