After injury, comes trauma
Mustafa Razzak, 21, was one of the few victims of the Wednesday blasts who was discharged a day later, despite an operation.
Mustafa Razzak, 21, was one of the few victims of the Wednesday blasts who was discharged a day later, despite an operation.
His wounds are healing and the painkillers help him deal with pain, but the trauma keeps the diamond broker awake at nights.
The symptoms of trauma include insomnia, panic attack and delayed reaction.
Across hospitals, patients are being discharged as they recover physically, but their mental health is far from normal.
“I have been taking sleeping pills for the past two nights because I can’t sleep. I keep thinking of the blasts and images keep flashing in my mind,” said Razzak who was hurt at the blast in Opera House.
Doctors warn that the trauma will set in as patients recover. “There are three kinds of people who may be in trauma. The injured, relatives of the injured or dead and residents of localities that were attacked,” said Dr Yusuf Mustafa, psychiatrist, GT hospital.
Meena Ahuja, 52, lost her husband Lalchand in the Zaveri Bazaar blasts. She is now on medication to deal with anxiety. “Every time somebody visits our house, my mother breaks down and is inconsolable,” said Kumar, her son.
Residents of Zaveri Bazaar are shaken. This is the third time their area has been hit by a blast. “We have no option but to move on, but we don’t feel safe, ” said Mustafa Fatakdawala, 52.
Fatakdawala had rushed a blast victim to GT hospital on his bike. “I don’t know that man. But I couldn’t sleep that night thinking of him,” he said.
“For residents of blast sites, every person around will look like a terrorist and every object around a bomb for some time,” said Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist.
If the anxiety and sleeplessness continue, one must visit a doctor, added Shetty.