After Yolanda, mental health problems plague Region 8

Our more than two-week journey in and around Leyte and Samar provinces for the school opening and post-Yolanda coverage, nearly seven months after the super typhoon struck the region, was marked by what we’d been expecting to see even before we touched down at Tacloban City Airport – countless damaged houses, roads, buildings, classrooms, bunkhouses and tent cities.

But as we traveled around Eastern Visayas, I also noticed the presence of a number of locals, mindlessly roaming the streets.

Some were naked, others were greasy, a number of them were decent-looking.

What they had in common, however, were those blank stares as they walked aimlessly. Some were also mumbling, while a number just kept on smiling while talking to nobody.

Others, however, preferred to just either stand or sit in one corner staring at nothing – unmindful of the scorching heat of the sun or any sudden rain.

Residents here who I had talked to confirmed that right after typhoon Yolanda, a good number of locals here began to manifest varying degrees of mental problems.

Many of them lost a loved one or loved ones in the super typhoon, they said.

Before and after Yolanda

A check with the Psychiatry Department of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) validated the information given to me by the locals.

Dr. Lyn Verano, chairperson of the EVRMC’s Psychiatry Department, expressed alarm over the increasing number of psychiatric cases that they have been receiving since last year.

Patients that they’ve attended to as of May this year mostly come from Leyte, Samar and Biliran provinces, she said.

The cases vary from depression to schizophrenia.

“That is true, it [mental health-related cases] is increasing… Ang karamihan dito yung schizophrenia… Schizophrenia is a thinking disorder. The causes are multi-factorial. You have genes, environment and other stress in life,” Verona said.

Data recorded by the Psychiatry Department on the number of cases they have consulted on are as follows:

2013:

December - 205
November - 212
October - 509
September - 421
August - 459
July- 462
June - 529
May - 523
April - 633
March - 504
February - 458
January - 512

And for the first three months of 2014:

March- 475
February- 370
January- 227

Noting the drop in the number of consultations from November to January this year, Verano said this was due to the extent of the devastation brought by typhoon Yolanda.

“Many thought that we were not open during those days. And also, many international organizations at that time were also here, attending to their needs. Kaya di na rin sila nagpunta dito nun. Mahirap kasi nun, na halos walang masakyan,” she said.

A check of the records state that for the first three months of 2014, a total of 354 schizophrenia cases were attended to by the Department, as well as 217 of major depression, 116 of anxiety disorder, 70 of sleep disorder and 32 of post-traumatic stress.

Other cases were also recorded such as: bipolar I disorder, substance-induced disorder, organic mental disorder, schizoaffective disorder, psychosomatic disorder, post-partum disorder and sexual addiction.

People with mental health problems usually experience sleep disturbance, are usually caught staring blankly, display restlessness, unusual behavioral patterns, have difficulty deciding and exercise poor hygiene, Verano said.

Institution needed: doc

The rising number of mental health cases they have been handling since the typhoon has stressed the need for a mental health institution in Region 8 that can give patients steady medical attention and medication, said Verano—a center with a 100-bed capacity that can house patients, specifically those who are already suffering from psychosis.

EVRMC's Psychiatry Department only maintains a small clinic inside the hospital and can only do counseling or consultation for its patients.

Thus, even individuals who are already displaying violent behavior are still treated as outpatients.

Verano lamented that many of these patients could be cured if only they could regularly take their medicines and do follow-up check-ups.

The lack of medicines in the hospital and poverty are the main reasons why many patients no longer return for follow-up check-ups, she said.

There is also a need to educate the public about mental health issues, Verano added.

“First sign pa lang [of mental health problems], dalhin nyo na agad sa amin. Naku-cure naman siya eh. Basta keep on taking the medicine lang until I tell you stop… Because it also takes time to cure that,” Verano said.

At last Friday’s inter-cluster meeting led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, health officials and various international organizations took note of the need to attend the mental health issue of Yolanda victims.

A representative of the Department of Health (DOH) reported the formulation of a mental health program for Yolanda victims. Counseling, which will start this month, will have as its priority target coping with the situation and the loss of a loved one. — BM, GMA News