THATTA, Nov 14: Speakers at a seminar on ‘psychological effects of earthquake’ appealed to media to call those dead as Shaheed (martyr) to give some relief to their relatives and other survivors of the October 8 earthquake.

The seminar was organized by the People’s Doctors’ Forum (PDF) at the Keenjhar Lake here on Monday.

It was presided over by the provincial chief of the forum, Dr Karim Khwaja.

The speakers said the positive attitude of the state and the society would reduce miseries of the earthquake victims.

They said the symptoms of post-traumatic anxiety, depression and grief were usually noticed in such disasters after two to four weeks.

In the post-traumatic-stress-disorder, patients experience humiliation, rejection, emotional numbness, irritability and sleep disturbances.

They said children require immediate psychological treatment after such incidents.

If the children were not given care and proper medication, the effects would be visible in their future lives in the form of impulsiveness, depression and disorganization, the speakers said.

They said the affected need medication for at least 15 days.

They praised the prime minister for forming a task force

of psychiatrists to heal the victims.

They advised the government to avail services also of the Pakistan Psychiatric Society.

The speakers said that Rs300 million announced by the government for psychological treatment should be spent honestly.