After the Fani, there is severe psychological trauma with emotional outbursts among the people who are affected with breaking of houses, buildings and deprived of minimal basic needs.
When Secretary Health and Family Welfare PK Meherda visited the Fani affected villages in Puri, he felt the need of the mental healthcare.
Dr Meherda along with Special Secretary Health and Family Welfare Shalini Pandit visited the worst affected villages and urban centres affected by the severe storm.
While interacting with the people, it was observed some people those who are severely affected are crying and desperately seeking the relief and described their desire for rebuilding of their own houses. So Dr Meherda directed Mental Health Institute(MHI) to rush a mental health team to these areas immdiately to take care traumatic people in Fani zones.
In certain places, it has been observed that although people are staying in the cyclone shelters, but from 11 am to 4 pm in the scorching heat, the adult members of the family are staying in the affected area in the anticipation that their own houses may be taken off by other people or they may not get the relief.
Another area of major concerned in the affected places is cleaned drinking water and mosquitoes at night.
Director MHI Prof Dr Sarada Prasanna Swain with his team mates visited the affected areas of Puri and discussed in detail with CDMO Puri about action plans of mental healthcare and psychosocial interventions.
In most of the villages, the affected people were diagnosed as Adjustment Disorder, where there occurs maladjustment in daily routine activities, loss of interest in the occupational work, feeling of desperate and sleep deprivation, the MHI team found.
Some people were suffering from Acute Stress Disorder which needs psychosocial intervention at earliest to make them return to their normal social rhythm.
But the restoration of mental health problems is strongly dependent on the restoration of their houses and maintenance of routine daily work.