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Post by Admin on Jul 13, 2015 10:08:31 GMT -4
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Post by Chris Yulo MS4 on Jul 13, 2015 17:55:30 GMT -4
When I read this, it just made sense to me. Weather makes the difference between life and death in many civilizations, why wouldn't weather affect mental status as well? If it doesn't rain, farmers can't grow crops. If farmers don't grow crops, they either cannot make money, or cannot directly feed their family with food. Landslides destroy villages and roads, killing some people and trapping others. On a lighter note, I especially find that this article makes sense because of the statement made early in the article: "Experimental and correlational research has shown that that there is a causal relationship between heat and violence and that rising global temperatures may be followed by an increase in incidents of violent aggression." - I too get angry when it is hot outside.
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Post by Christine Lomiguen on Jul 15, 2015 14:28:15 GMT -4
I liked how this article focused on climate change and its effects. In November 2013, I was worried about memorizing slides for my pathology practical exam and didn't realize how deadly the typhoon outside my dorm was becoming. Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,300 people in the Philippines alone and has been the deadliest Philippine typhoon recorded in modern history. The evacuations were not well-planned. The roads were inaccessible. Donations could not make it to those in need. Thousands of people lost their loves, and those that didn't suffered - they were anxious, scared, homeless, hungry, coping with the loss of loved ones, traumatized. After initial shock from the event and months of bereavement and recovery, many survivors were on their way to rebuilding their lives, but many suffered from PTSD, depression, or psychosis.
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Post by Victoria Mazzella on Jul 15, 2015 19:17:57 GMT -4
The portion of the article that stuck out to me most, although only a small part,was the mention of the media’s role in providing means to attain psychological counseling to those affected in a natural disaster. With the unpredictability of weather during hurricanes or tornados it can be a terrifying situation for people who live in that area. Counseling and therapy is something that is often greatly overlooked during times of crises. Many times in the news we see requests for physical goods like clothes, food, and other supplies for those affected, but usually very few mentions of places people can be seen for counseling. As future providers we must realize weather most definitely has an influence on mental health both good and bad. We must ask ourselves how did this make the people involved feel, what fears and concerns will they have going forward into the future, and most importantly how can we help them through counseling and therapy.
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Post by Cheryl Stephens on Jul 15, 2015 20:34:41 GMT -4
This is a very enlightening article. The idea of having a global outreach mental health prevention program to be available after any given natural disaster is an interesting concept. For example, I found it noteworthy that this article found a strong connection between depression and physical illness due to natural disasters from something like global warming. Furthermore, this article addresses the issue of some individuals feeling insecure and negative about his or herself prior to a volcanic eruption simply to due to the fact that they may be newly unemployed or homeless. Even more so, patients with an existing psychological disorder such as schizophrenia are shown to suffer at a greater level after their misfortune from global disaster. It seems the youth show a greater amount of psychological distress after a significant natural catastrophe because they tend to think about how this will affect their future.
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Post by jayvithalani on Jul 15, 2015 20:36:47 GMT -4
There is no doubt in my mind that global warming is a real issue. However, majority of the world is still being convinced by over-whelming amount of scientific evidence. It is definitely not an issue widely accepted in the US or the world. I am sure there are many political causes for that. This article gives lots of evidence and examples how changing weather pattern can affect human psyche. When looking at the whole picture, it all makes sense. Weather problems can keep one from getting help from providers, decreased sunlight can affect the mood and weather dependent jobs decrease which causes more stress. However in my opinion, it is the underlying issue that needs to be accepted first in order to be corrected. Hopefully this article convinces some people on the opposite side thats global warming is more than just greater # of floods, temperatures or hurricanes. It affects everyone directly and indirectly and will continue to do so for generations to come if modifying steps are not taken.
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Post by Vani Zutshi on Jul 15, 2015 20:43:15 GMT -4
This article brings about many interesting points about the psychological effects of natural disasters. Although we always think about the social effects on families that lose their homes and think about the need to donate food and clothing, the psychological effect on victims of such events is not usually thought about. I think it’s interesting to consider that although everyone involved in a natural disaster is effected psychologically, it’s the people with mental illness that are less capable of coping with the aftermath of such a disruption in their lives, which is what can lead to the deterioration in their mental status after such events. While people without mental illness are also affected, they are able to come out of such events and recover much faster and get back to a “normal” life.
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Post by Janak Patel on Jul 15, 2015 21:28:30 GMT -4
This article is really nice.I mean we are connected with the environment in every aspect of our life, and each of us from a small kid to elderly. the study showing how high temperature affects the mood and the behavior is very logical. Does that mean the middle east crisis has some aspect of this high temperature apart from religion? that place is really hot so who knows. A little rise of temperature can affect a normal person then how bad it could be for psychologically ill person, for eg we have seen migration of older population from up north to the south during the winter and vice versa when summer arrives. Another example is last year's snow storm (Atlanta) in which individuals were stranded on the highways for up to 24 hours. This resulted in individuals fearful at the slightest mention of snow this year with offices and schools being closed due to fear of a repeat of the year before. So yes i do agree with this article that global warming is affecting each one of us mentally and if we do not take care of it now then later it will have even more detrimental effects psychologically.
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Post by vpawate on Jul 15, 2015 22:23:16 GMT -4
When we read or hear about natural disasters around the world, the first thing that pops into our head is usually not about how it is affecting people psychologically. This was a very interesting article to read and it brought up some very important points. We all talk about global warming and realize that it has been impacting the weather tremendously, but it is not a widely accepted concept. The article provides some very important examples and it made me think about some stories my uncles who have farm lands in India shared with me. Floods and droughts ruin peoples main source of income, and it is a huge stressor. A key point that the article brings out is the fact that people who already are suffering from mental illness are affected more and are less able to cope with the situation.
I agree with the fact that there should be a global outreach mental health prevention program that should be available to people after a natural disaster. This could potentially bring down the number of people who may suffer from depression or anxiety; it could also cut down the amount of time that a person may experience PTSD.
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Post by Arachristie Otero on Jul 15, 2015 22:28:26 GMT -4
The mind is one of the most powerful things of the human body, so it can truly play a big role when we are facing extreme changes in our environment,such as climate change.From the sociocultural point of view, how each nation and how each individual deal with this issue, is the most interesting fact to me. As we see with this article, no matter what country neither what specific weather changes they are experiencing, they can all suffer from some psychosocial phenomena. Even with minimum life stressors a person can be mentally affected, why not to think and be aware of the fact that a big natural phenomena can do it as well? To some extent, it is part of the human being to face things differently, but the main thing to think about is how can we as future physicians help to develop more resources for a better and more stable population from generation to generation, so that when we have events like this, mental health doesn’t become affected in our society.
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Shashank Varakantam
Guest
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Post by Shashank Varakantam on Jul 16, 2015 7:23:26 GMT -4
This article made me think of the recent earthquake in Nepal where many people lost their beloved ones, wealth and other resources. I believe they’re the people who are in much need of psychological and psychosocial support. Any delay in treating the new cases that occur after a disaster can lead to serious, irreversible psychological complications. I like how this article pointed out about pharmaceuticals companies may come up with new drugs, which could lead to life-threatening side effects. Taking initiative and reaching out to them early will definitely reverse the mental health complications and the need of new drugs.
As mentioned in the article, having “ready to respond” teams in case of disasters is an effective way of dealing with adverse mental health impacts.
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Post by Hiren Darji on Jul 16, 2015 8:58:35 GMT -4
Extreme Weather Events and mental Health: tackling the psychosocial challenge was an interesting read. The reason being is that I know that environment and weather has effect on one’s mood. However, reading this article gave me in depth knowledge that not only the countries like Ireland and Netherlands and Canada are affected but the whole world has various phenomenon’ that will have increased risk for suicide. How farmers are affected in India after a draught, Israel and increase risk of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. People that lost everything in tsunami are affects one’s life. When these individuals come into various emergency rooms and doctor offices one will be able to enlighten how we can deal with various psychiatric disorders. It will allow us to care and treat our patients better if we can relate and understand what they are suffering through and how it affected their daily lifestyle.
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Post by Hubert Pare on Jul 16, 2015 10:30:41 GMT -4
At this point in time, most of us understand the physical impacts of climate change. Decades of research have shown that climate change will worsen droughts, exacerbate floods, and make storms and hurricanes more severe. The very truth about our daily necessities is that they have shaped our very being. Not all individuals and communities will experience climate change in the same way as far as it impact and consequences. A major factor that may increase communities’ vulnerability to the effect of major climate disasters include socioeconomic status. Such combination of drastic situations eventually may precipitate the exacerbation of the many psychological disorders. Governments and communities are starting to take note of these factors and are slowly becoming proactive towards taking preventive measures.
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Post by Brittany Egeh on Jul 16, 2015 10:32:21 GMT -4
Extreme weather events and mental health, tackling the psycho-social challenge was a very interesting article. Climate change does have a correlation to mental health. Unfortunately due to global warming, there is an increase in incidence of disasters such as the tsunami in Japan and hurricane Katrina. According to Shukla, (2013) the consequences of climate change can affect nearly every aspect of human life, including physical and mental health. In addition related extreme weather events also directly affect the spread and intensity of mental health problems. I would have to agree with the researcher. Living in Georgia, there are times when temperatures get really high, and with the increase in temperature, there is an increase in road rage, an increase in violent crimes so I can definitely believe that climate change and natural disasters are directly correlated with an increase in incidence of mental health related illnesses.
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Post by Prashanthi on Jul 16, 2015 10:50:24 GMT -4
With the association of mental illnesses to rising global climates it is helpful to understand and prepare for the deteriorating temperatures. From personal experiences living in Canada, there is no denying the toll that weather can take on a person. There is a high level of cases presenting with SAD. Having to shovel the snow every morning, and spend an extra 2 hours on commute for 6 months on end can take a toll on a person emotionally and physically, therefore there is no denying that there is indeed a huge association. It was interesting to hear about the farmer suicides in India during the drought, however it could also be associated to the lack of business or income that these people suffer. The good news is that since it is very apparent how strongly weather conditions can affect a person's overall well being , further precautions can be taken to dissect and address that several issues that arise under these continually worsening climates.
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