In the face of major emergencies, how to heal psychological trauma?

On March 21, a Boeing 737 (MU5735) of China Eastern Airlines crashed while on a flight from Kunming to Guangzhou. The rescue situation and the progress of the accident investigation have touched the hearts of the people of the whole country.

In addition to paying attention to news events, on social platforms, many netizens shared their emotional reactions to the shock, fear, sadness and other emotions of the event. Some people said that after constantly following up the latest information, they had symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety, and their emotions could not be extracted from them.

In the event of an aviation emergency, how should passengers help themselves? For major emergencies, how should the public carry out psychological adjustment? Nanfang Daily and Nanfang + reporters interviewed aviation emergency medical rescue experts and psychologists of the Second People's Hospital of Guangdong Province.

Fan Changhe, director of the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry of the Second People's Hospital of Guangdong Province

Air Disaster Rescue: Psychological Assistance to Prevent "Secondary Injuries"

Deng Kunlong, member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Aerospace Medical Branch and head of the Airport Emergency Center of the Second People's Hospital of Guangdong Province, introduced that most of the air crashes occurred during the take-off and landing stages, and the common causes of air crash damage were direct impact, rapid fall, aircraft explosion, aircraft fire and so on.

In direct impact, aircraft explosion injuries, common injuries for head injuries, limb injuries, spine injuries and chest and abdomen injuries, etc., large explosions will cause direct death or cardiac arrest; rapid decompression mainly leads to abnormal diseases such as pneumothorax and decompression sickness; aircraft fire will cause burns, inhalation of excessive smoke leading to respiratory damage, etc.

Deng Kunlong introduced that if the plane is forced to land at sea, passengers should listen to the command to wear life jackets in advance; if the plane descends rapidly and the oxygen mask falls, the passengers should immediately wear the oxygen mask and help people nearby wear the oxygen mask under the premise of personally wearing the oxygen mask; tie the seat belt when the plane is rapidly descending, hold the head with both hands and bend on the chest; immediately release the seat belt after the plane is parked and evacuate from the nearest safety exit.

The families of the victims in the air crash may have psychological problems, mainly manifested as panic, palpitations, helplessness, and long-term crying. At the emergency rescue site, medical staff will be arranged to comfort the family members, and if necessary, psychologists will be arranged to follow up and help.

Public response: Accept low emotions and avoid excessive attention

After the crash of China Eastern Airlines, these messages were forwarded by many people on social platforms:

"This sudden natural and man-made disaster is like a lightning bolt that pierces through emotions, bringing about instant and indescribable heartache."

"Even if we are friends with Pingshui, even if we always disagree, even if we have never met, strangers, I wish you peace and good health." 」

"In addition to fear, don't forget to love."

Fan Changhe, director of the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry of the Second People's Hospital of Guangdong Province, believes that for emergencies, especially catastrophic events, the public generally has low emotions, but people with different psychological quality characteristics have different degrees of emotional response. For example, people who are usually more negative and pessimistic in cognition may imagine that such events will happen to them, worrying about which of tomorrow and accidents will come first, which will affect the concept of life.

For people with more anxious personalities, there may be excessive defense, such as amplifying any risks that may exist around them, being more careful, and even things with minimal risks may not dare to do. For people who fly more often, there may be some fear in the short term, or fear of the emotions.

For the above groups, Fan Changhe suggested that everyone accept the low mood at the same time, and actively adjust their mentality. For example, don't pay too much attention to such events, refresh relevant news less, and put your attention back into your daily life. You can also do some favorite sports and relaxation training to promote physical and mental health.

For patients with mental and psychological diseases such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Fan Changhe recommends watching as little or no such news as possible so as not to induce or aggravate psychological diseases. If you have worsening your symptoms after paying too much attention to the relevant information, you should seek medical attention in time.

Psychological Regulation: Mass "Alternative Trauma" after Major Emergencies

In addition to air disasters, after major emergencies such as sudden epidemics, earthquakes, and explosions, the public may also have "alternative trauma".

Wei Ye et al. of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology said in the study "The Impact of Empathy on Residents' Alternative Trauma in Major Events" that the phenomenon of experiencing the disaster experienced by others indirectly leads to their own physical and mental distress and even mental collapse is called "alternative trauma". There is evidence that empathy (the ability to understand or empathize with the emotional experiences of others) is one of the key factors influencing "alternative trauma."

Wang Jingyi and others from the Institute of Development and Educational Psychology of Wuhan University surveyed 201 respondents through online questionnaires and other methods and found that under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, 7% of the respondents had "alternative trauma". Among them, those who have been exposed to epidemic information for a long time have suffered substitutionary trauma and emotional responses, cognitive responses and changes in life beliefs significantly greater than those who have been exposed to epidemic information for a shorter period of time.

Researchers suggest that when the public pays attention to the epidemic, they should not only pay attention to their own health precautions, but should be careful to avoid being exposed to negative information for a long time, resulting in negative emotions and adverse physiological reactions, so that they can care for themselves while caring for others, reasonably allocate time, contact family and friends, and improve social relations.

"In the face of negative major emergencies, the public should do a good job of psychological adjustment to prevent the occurrence of mental diseases." Fan Changhe said that for infectious disease events such as sudden epidemics, we must first avoid panic, treat them scientifically, and do not hearsay. It is necessary to listen to the scientific judgment of authoritative infectious diseases and clinical medical experts, cooperate with epidemic prevention policies and epidemic prevention requirements, and do a good job in disease prevention and control.

For emergencies such as natural disasters and man-made disasters, Fan Changhe suggested that the public should be moderate in the acquisition of information, and it is recommended not to always pay attention to refreshing information, especially to prevent excessive projection of personal emotions in the event, immersed in sad emotions and unable to extricate themselves. If you can do what you can, such as responding to calls for blood donation, forwarding help messages, participating in volunteer activities, etc., doing something that is helpful to the victims of the disaster, you can also alleviate your sadness and anxiety.

After a major emergency, if you feel that your emotions are particularly abnormal, overreact, and obviously affect your work, social life and life, it is recommended to seek medical treatment in time and seek professional help.

[Reporter] Zhu Xiaofeng

【Photography】 Xu Hao

[Correspondent] Zhu Jian

【Author】 Zhu Xiaofeng; Xu Hao

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