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Resilience and mental health impacts of natural disasters in India

associated with psychological distress (Padhy, Sarkar, Panigrahi, et al., 2015). There is some evidence that individuals
may suffer from post-traumatic stress through the impact of the disaster on their community, even if not individually
impacted (Wind and Komproe, 2018).
Disasters affect the economy of countries as substantial damage is caused to infrastructure and the cost of recovery
is high, given the increasing frequency of some natural hazards. People are uprooted from their homes and lose their
livelihoods, and end up grappling with trauma, acute anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts (Parida, 2014). The
review shows that with the wrecking of livelihoods, people find it difficult to secure alternate employment and the
inability to cope with disasters and adapt, adversely affects their mental health. Natural disasters, especially heat
waves, lead to an increase in morbidity, exacerbate physical illnesses, and cause heatstroke, making it difficult for
informal sector workers to work during extreme heat wave conditions. Livelihood concerns were among the main
reasons for developing symptoms of depression (Crabtree, 2013). Farmer suicides in recent decades are an important
area of concern in the mental health arena. Given the increasing unviability of agriculture as an occupation and
psychological problems that have emerged in recent years due to the livelihood impact of floods/cyclones, it is
imperative to assess and further study the mental health impact of natural disasters on agriculture and other climate-
sensitive livelihoods. It is also essential to improve infrastructure and facilities for mental health care besides
strengthening programs for livelihood regeneration to avert suicides arising from indebtedness and loss of income
sources.
The study clearly shows the psychosocial impacts of natural disasters, including sleep disturbances, flashbacks,
helplessness insecurity, grief, uncertainty, depression, stress, PTSD, psychiatric disorders, trauma-related stress disorders,
adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and abnormal behavioral patterns. Mental disorders that result
from disasters are major challenges for public health and development (Stanke, Murray, Amlôt, et al., 2012). The fact
that disasters have continued to affect countries severely shows that even though policies on climate change and disaster
management have been introduced, they have not been entirely successful in curbing the severe effects of disasters. Some
studies have observed the significance of mind-body practices in reducing the effect of mental stress (Kim, Schneider,
Kravitz, et al., 2013; Telles, Singh, Joshi, et al., 2010). There is evidence which highlights inadequate facilities for mental
health care (Channaveerachari, Raj, Joshi, et al., 2015), and the significance of interventions made to provide mental
health care support in the aftermath of disasters (Vijayakumar and Kumar, 2008; Becker, 2007). Community mental health
preparedness is important to find the most appropriate tool which will enable a suitable response when facing disasters.
However, there is a lack of mental health preparedness in a majority of the countries; valid and reliable tools and context-
bound programs should be developed based on the experiences and perceptions of the community (Roudini, Khankeh, and
Witruk, 2017). There is a great need for long-term prospective studies on the effects of disasters and more interventional
studies to find out the effectiveness of supportive measures provided to the victims. It is imperative to inculcate a mental
health support system in the disaster response strategies in India (Kar, 2010).
The review shows that despite measures introduced by the government, mental health continues to be affected by
disasters, and stronger measures need to be taken up. Boosting public education with regard to effects and aftereffects of
disasters, mentally preparing people for natural outcomes, and improving public health surveillance to detect diseases and
complications will add value to existing efforts. Giving special attention to mental health and post-disaster psychosocial
rehabilitation will be an investment worth making. While rescue efforts are worthy of praise, recurrent disasters will
warrant attention and care for all survivors well into the future. Psychological counseling needs to be facilitated in
shelters/camps. Psychological and psychiatric care needs to be provided both in the immediate aftermath of disasters as
well as for the long-term. Psychological first aid can be provided by field workers, including health workers, teachers,
or trained volunteers, and does not always need mental health professionals. However, psychosocial teams (psychiatrist,
psychologists, and psychosocial worker) may be needed for rapid psychosocial assessments and community-based
psychosocial care and referral services in affected communities.
Post-disaster, rebuilding of an area, especially in relation to mental health, requires building emotional health of
survivors through self-care; strengthening of families; supporting anganwadis, schools, colleges, and workplaces, to
become places to promote mental health; creating caring communities from the Panchayat level; building resilience at the
community level for long-term preparedness; and most importantly, to sensitize the administrative mechanisms toward
the importance of mental health aspects, and coordination with the local authorities and policymakers (Chadda, 2018;
Murthy, 2018). It is also important to understand that the psychological and mental health services and interventions are
very much country- and culture-specific; therefore, any tailor-made intervention in one country may not be applicable in a
similar disaster in other countries. For example, similar magnitudes of earthquakes in India and Iran would be two different
contexts altogether; therefore, mental health and psychosocial services would certainly vary, although the core recovery

92 International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1