PESHAWAR: As health department continues to record incidence of communicable diseases in flood-stricken districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, psychiatrists say that most people face acute stress disorders due to loss of relatives and properties in the affected areas.

“Many people are passing sleepless nights as they have lost brothers, fathers, sisters, sons and daughters due to floods. Many wake up and start crying, thinking as if they are dead. These nightmarish conditions are common after every natural or manmade disaster,” Dr Abdul Shakoor, a psychiatrist, told Dawn.

He said that floods caused severe mental health issues to people in the affected areas. He said that restlessness was common among those people, who suffered losses.

Dr Shakoor, a member of Pakistan Psychiatric Society, said that they organised camps in collaboration with health department and district health officer in Buner to examine patients, identify their issues and collect data on the basis of which those requiring long-term treatment would be referred for more consultation while those with mild to moderate mental issues were managed locally.

“Cases of relapse among known psychiatric patients, who have already recovered, are present at the camps in addition to fresh patients,” said Dr Shakoor. At a later stage, many can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They will need step-wise long-term treatment including counselling.

Experts say they are busy in collecting data and counselling of affected people

“Under the guidance of health department, we will continue screening camps for the next six months and will compile data,” he said. He added that patients would also require follow-ups with proper interventions to bring them to normal condition.

Dr Mohammad Alam, another psychiatrist, said that since the tragedy struck the areas, grief continued to mount with every passing day as it was hard for people to forget their near and dear ones. He said that delaying management of such patients could snowball into major psychiatric problems in which the chances of improvement remained thin. Most of them feared a grim future as they were gripped by anxiety, which would affect their health, he said.

“However, we want to treat them earlier and safeguard them against mental illnesses. Floods have affected 11 districts, killing 338 people and injuring 356. The catastrophe has also displaced people and the conditions in which they now live have led to widespread mental disorders,” he said.

Dr Alam, who works at tehsil headquarters hospital of Pir Baba in Buner, said that people often dreamt of charred bodies of their near and dear ones, killed by rainwater or buried under rocks. They required continuous treatment, he added.

A Peshawar-based psychiatrist said that he saw a woman in Swabi whose son died while playing outside their home due to which she was overcome by trauma.

He said that the children, who had been orphaned by the calamity, would suffer the most as they would not forget their parents. He said that most people seen at their camp in Swabi recounted the sight of their close relative killed during flood.

“We need to pay attention to psychological ailments, especially among women because they more prone to PSTD than men as women stay inside their homes due to social taboos and seldom go to doctors as opposed to men, who not only visit hospitals but also enjoy entertainment outside homes,” he said. Extreme poverty would further aggravate the situation among the flood-wracked population and would increase psychological problems, he said.

According to him, people will require counselling, psychotherapy, rehabilitation. He said that occupational therapy after treatment was important to prevent relapses.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025