The age of the person experiencing earthquake trauma is one of the factors affecting the response to this experience. Children have more difficulty than adults in making sense of events such as loss of life and space. They are inexperienced in expressing their feelings (8). There are many findings that need attention regarding earthquake-related psychological distress in children. These include restless and agitated behavior, tantrums, sleep problems, having scary dreams and waking up crying, saying that he sees the ghost of the person he lost, decreased desire to be with friends and play, baby-like behavior, attention deficit, excessive dependency on adults, bedwetting, diagnosed These may include complaints of intractable pain, vomiting, and decreased school performance. By recognizing these findings, the child can be helped with a relevant approach. Creating special time for the child, talking to him/her, reassuring him, organizing joint activities, supporting him to take responsibility in daily life, and not burdening him with more responsibilities will contribute to the solution of the problem in a shorter time. In cases that last more than two weeks and continue in a severe form, it is of great importance to provide professional support. If left unresolved, the impact of trauma may negatively affect the child's self-confidence, cognitive development, school success, and ability to establish healthy family and friend relationships in the following years. In some children, depression, anxiety and various behavioral problems may occur in the future. Evaluation of Healing Emotional healing occurs in a different way than physical healing in all individuals, children and adults. The psychological effects of a severe trauma such as an earthquake may not completely disappear. Signs of improvement can be observed in the form of a less violent emotional reaction to the event and an increase in the ability to develop solutions to problems. The development is not sudden and does not show a constantly positive course. Reminders such as stressful events, anniversaries, special days, and similar situations experienced by others may lead to relapses in recovery. Setting realistic goals in recovery, noticing even small positives, being able to share the inner world with reliable people, accessing rational sources of information about problems, These are approaches that facilitate the process. Who Should You Get Help From? Doctors, mental health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers) are the professionals to turn to for support. The aim of treatment should be to provide the person with skills to cope with stress and, in case of grief, grief. In appropriate cases, drug treatment may be required. The Japanese and the Earthquake On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced one of the biggest disasters in world history. The tsunami that emerged following the great earthquake terrified the whole world with the destruction it caused. The most surprising aspect of this disaster for other societies was the reaction of the Japanese people. The Japanese's acceptance of what happened with great resignation, their civilized and orderly use of the aid services offered to them, their sharing behavior that respected the rights of others, and their silent mourning for their losses were very different from the reactions given to similar situations in the world. Paying attention to the needs of others during a disaster, when oneself is a victim, is called "mono no aware" in Japanese. This attitude is based on the social consciousness that the Japanese have, that when there is nothing to be done, it is necessary to accept it as it is, and that nothing in life is permanent.
2012 In Western values, the main goal of man is to get away from painful and distressing experiences as much as possible. is to turn to pleasurable experiences. This perception drives the person into a frantic effort to deny reality. According to the Japanese value system, resisting what is unchangeable and trying to make permanent what is temporary, such as human life, results in nothing but suffering. This attitude does not mean unconsciously rejecting reality, but on the contrary, accepting reality as it is and making efforts to make it livable in the best way possible. 'Morita Therapy' as a Japanese Spiritual Healing Method At this point, it would be appropriate to draw attention to a Japanese spiritual treatment method called Morita therapy, which reflects the Japanese philosophy of life and is gaining increasing importance in the Western medical world today. Morita therapy was developed in the first half of the 20th century by Dr. Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo Jikei University. It is a treatment method developed by Shoma Morita (1874-1938) (10). Dr. Morita� During the period in which he was establishing the principles of therapy in Japan, Dr. Sigmund Freud defined the subconscious. Dr. Morita initially developed this method for the treatment of anxiety neurosis, called "Shinkeishitsu" in Japanese, and over time, this method began to be used in many psychological complaints. Dr. Morita says that emotions are natural processes that cannot be changed. Trying to change them will only deepen them further. What needs to be done is to accept the emotions as they are (arugamama) and do whatever is necessary despite the emotions. This also helps emotions change over time. For example, presenting in public despite embarrassment will gradually overcome this feeling after a few times. Dr. Morita states that it is behavior, not emotions, that determines character. The first step in Morita therapy is to become aware of emotions and to understand whether the conditions that lead to these emotions can be changed. It is necessary to change the changeable conditions and accept the unchangeable ones. This is only possible by seriously focusing on the moment and doing what needs to be done. Responsibilities need to be assumed instead of selfishly retreating by focusing on negative emotions. Morita therapy differs from the Western psychology approach by diagnosing distress reactions to life difficulties, such as depression, panic attack, addiction, and first correcting these emotional states and then waiting for the behavior to change. Morita therapy calls the person to get out of his own narrow world and take part in life as quickly as possible.
CONCLUSION Since the earthquake is an important stressor that threatens the person's life in terms of life, property and meaning, serious psychological, social and creates compatibility and performance problems. In our country, where earthquake disasters occur frequently, raising people's awareness about earthquakes, educating them about helping themselves and their relatives for physical and psychological effects, and benefiting from professional support opportunities when necessary are as important for public health as the zoning of buildings. ,
Children and Earthquake Fear
Earthquake is a serious trauma for all age groups. However, it is more difficult for children who have difficulty making sense of the event. It creates severe trauma.
Earthquake is a serious trauma for all age groups. However, it creates more severe trauma for children who have difficulty making sense of the event.
Not wanting to be alone, night groves, anxiety about an earthquake again, irritability, reactivity, inability to fall asleep, frequent waking up, nightmares, loss of appetite, distraction, introversion. Symptoms similar to those in adults, such as seizures, are often observed. However, children may also exhibit some symptoms specific to their age. Problems such as defying parents more frequently, becoming moody and whining, stuttering, bedwetting, wanting to sleep with parents, starting to suck thumbs or bite nails, decrease in school success, and frequent fights with friends can be observed after earthquakes or other traumas. Some children express complaints such as abdominal pain, nausea, headache, arm and leg pain, which doctors cannot show as a physical reason. Some children experience feelings of guilt, just like adults. They may think that the earthquake occurred because of their own wrong behavior or as a punishment for this behavior. Silent crying and constantly walking around with head bowed can be observed. A child who became introverted and moved away from his circle of friends after the earthquake should not be forced to behave as lively and cheerful as before. The best help to a child who isolates himself from the environment in this way can be provided by another peer who approaches him, invites him to play, and shares his toys. As much as possible, the child should be allowed to be among his/her peers and in environments that have previously attracted his/her interest, but forcing him/her to establish relationships should be avoided. A child may panic when he sees that his parents are afraid or anxious. For this reason, parents' attitude towards the earthquake is extremely important. Even very young children carefully watch their every comment and every reaction they give to the comments and create a separate interpretation in their own world. A panicked parent telling their frightened children "don't be afraid, it's nothing" will have no effect. If the parent is pessimistic and sad, the child gets caught up in negative emotions more quickly and breaks down more easily. The child can only be relaxed if the parents act calmly, make explanations appropriate to the child's age, and create an environment of trust. It will cause
It affects a lot. Thumb sucking, wetting the bed, having nightmares, not being able to sleep alone, not leaving adults, the desire to hold on, and frequently hugging the neck are common behaviors. On the other hand, school success may be affected, tantrums and introversion are common. Nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, sleep disorders, joylessness, stagnation for no known reason may occur even after 1-2 months.
What should we do?
For the child It is necessary to help the child, especially over the age of 9, understand the danger. It is necessary to give the message "There is pain, we will experience this pain and endure it." If adults are patient, determined, courageous, helpful and compassionate, there will be no permanent deterioration in children's mental health. It is necessary to spend more time with children. We should hug them, touch them and make them feel that they are not alone. We should give children the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts, let them play games, draw pictures, let them get tired all day long. Children will be relieved to feel that life is returning to normal. It should be said that the earthquake ordeal caused our children to mature early.
What should adults do?
People should pay attention to some things in order to become psychologically healthy as before.
- You are going through a difficult period of life. Some time is needed to recover. - Everyone who thought about this incident felt what you felt, sharing the pain will reduce the pain. However, going to bed with pain and waking up with pain will consume a person's brain energy. Remember this rule; “If there is a cure, it will be taken care of, it is not worth getting upset about. If there is no cure, even if you get upset, the result will not change and it is not worth worrying more.”
- Do not forget that fatigue, hunger and insomnia are very harmful to your body.
- Alcohol and Stay away from narcotic drugs, non-narcotic medications prescribed by the attending physician will be very useful.
- It is possible to gain from the earthquake. Such life events develop people who do not lose their self-confidence. Just like the sparrow's
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