It is a fact that our country is always under the risk of earthquakes.

However, the earthquake that occurred on February 6 significantly affected our lives along with many negativities. It interrupted our lives by showing negative effects in vital, physical, social, psychological, economic, and many other aspects, primarily in the earthquake zone. The picture formed after the natural disaster created indescribable emotions in every individual, and every individual experienced and continues to experience pain in different ways.

Emotions experienced during and immediately after the earthquake may differ from those that emerge later in the process. Emotions experienced immediately after the earthquake; extreme fear, shock, confusion, not knowing what to do (chaos), and unresponsiveness can be observed. Emotions and reactions formed after a certain period has passed since the earthquake; fear, helplessness, excessive crying or inability to cry, guilt, anger, and sadness can be experienced. The person may feel like they are constantly reliving the same event. They may recall the moment of the earthquake over and over and feel as if an earthquake is happening. However, these are normal reactions to an abnormal situation that we expect. Apart from these;

• Disruption in sleep patterns

• Avoidance of situations that remind one of the earthquake

• Difficulty in breathing

• Irritability

• Palpitations

• Sudden startles

• Behavioral reactions such as tremors can be observed.

It is normal to observe these symptoms in people who have experienced the earthquake in the first few weeks. If these symptoms spread over a longer period, intensify, and make life difficult and dysfunctional, it will be beneficial to seek support from a specialist.

What people who have experienced the earthquake and whose basic needs have been met can do to become psychologically healthy;

• Social support is important in this process. Contact your loved ones physically and psychologically as soon as possible. If you have losses, establish safe contacts in a place where you feel safe. Take care not to be alone in this process; go to a relative or ask them to come to you.

• Do not avoid talking about the earthquake, share your pain.

• Express difficult-to-cope emotions such as sadness, anxiety, disappointment, and anger; do not suppress them.

• Cry if you want to cry, tell if you want to tell, listen if you want to listen. All your feelings are waiting to be lived. Do not ignore them. Do not force yourself for things you do not feel. Remember that everyone's process of making sense and experiencing emotion is different.

• In the initial periods, your eating and sleep patterns may be disrupted, and you may have difficulty focusing, or you may experience the opposite. You may experience two extremes and go back and forth between them. Know that these are normal and move away from anxiety by thinking that you will return to your old balance over time.

• Strive to return to your old routine. Returning to your routine does not mean forgetting or ignoring the current situation and what has happened. We need each other and we need energy.

• Do not deprive yourself of what you can do for spiritual support and physical health to protect your own health and safety.

• Do not forget that fatigue, hunger, and insomnia harm your body even more.

• Do not neglect your self-care (once you reach a suitable environment). Even if you don't feel like it, try to take a shower.
What can people who witnessed the earthquake from a distance do to protect themselves psychologically?

• Filter the sources through which you follow the earthquake. The guiding word here will be "benefit." Will the news you watch, read, or listen to be of benefit to an individual who has experienced the earthquake, or is it of benefit to you?
If not, keep yourself away from that news and social media posts.

• If you have been exposed to the news a lot during this difficult process, follow the information that you see fit and believe will be beneficial according to your psychological resilience, mostly from the print media from now on.

• Feelings of sadness, anxiety, surprise, anger, and guilt that you may experience are normal. Mostly, they will start to decrease spontaneously within one or two weeks.

• Take care and strive to maintain your routine and not neglect your self-care. This does not mean that you are not sad or do not care, and it does not harm the person who experienced the earthquake. It increases your psychological resilience, and you benefit the process.

Earthquake and Child

Children are at higher risk and need special attention and support in an earthquake that deeply affects us adults and can leave physical and psychological traces. After basic needs such as a safe area, a safe person (parents, or relatives), and nutrition are met for children in the earthquake zone, calm and compassionate contact should be established.

Children who are not in the earthquake zone but are experiencing the process are generally affected by their parents' anxieties and their reactions to the event. This situation can create restlessness and difficulties for the child. To take precautions against the effect of the earthquake on your children, you first need to look at your own attitudes.

For children who are not in the earthquake zone but witnessed it from a distance;

• You may be affected by the earthquake process and give reactions out of the ordinary. Do not blame yourself.

• You must take your emotional behaviors under control to help your children make sense of the process and to support them. Then you should relax your child.

• To manage your level of impact, carefully read the suggestions above and apply them to yourself.

It is not a correct approach to completely isolate children from the earthquake and its effects. Correct information should be given to the child appropriate for their age. Raise their awareness so that they are better prepared and can cope with the anxiety brought by uncertainty.

• Filter earthquake news. Make sure they are not exposed to all kinds of earthquake news.

• If you think they have received wrong information about the earthquake from others, correct it.

• Explain the earthquake without going into details.

• If you observe an emotion they are experiencing, support them to share it with you.

• If they are telling, listen carefully. If they insist on not talking, allow them to express themselves through pictures or play.

• You should take care to continue their routine. For children who are not going to school right now, create a routine for them during the day.

• Adolescents may want to make more sense of the anxiety they experience. Support them in accessing correct information. Be with them if they want to talk.

• Allow your child to experience their emotion. If they are open to cooperation, try to create a positive and forward-looking perspective.

 

“Yes, an earthquake happened. We are safe right now. Come, let's prepare an earthquake bag with you.”

“Yes, an earthquake happened. We are safe right now. If you want, you can support us regarding the aid we can provide for those in the earthquake zone.”

In this sensitive process, if you observe that there is no change in your children's levels of impact and that the changes in their emotions and behaviors do not decrease over time, it will be beneficial to consult a specialist.

 

Pinar Ersoz Tezer

Psychologist & Family Counselor & EMDR Therapist