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Nine out of 10 inhabitants of Rio Grande do Sul, a state in southern Brazil that has been suffering for 43 days from the worst climate catastrophe in history, are psychologically affected by the tragedy, suffering from anxiety and depression linked to losses and the fear of suffering. new floods, according to a study released this Tuesday by the local press.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and exhaustion (burnout syndrome) are mental health illnesses cited by those who responded to a survey carried out by psychologists at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). ) and the Hospital de Clínicas of Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Argentina and Uruguay.

According to the varied responses of survivors to the floods that began on April 29 and began to recede at the beginning of June, anxiety is generated, for example, by finding a faucet open and hearing the sound of water or by nightmares that the house is falling apart. is flooding.

Among the data collected by the researchers, anxiety stands out with 91 percent, followed by exhaustion with 60 percent and depression with 50 percent.

The coordinator of the study, psychiatrist Simone Hauck, told the RBS news network of Porto Alegre that the environmental catastrophe that caused at least 175 deaths, 38 missing and for which almost 450,000 people remain evacuated, affected even those who did not was a victim of the floods.

There are similar reactions among the victims and the rescue volunteers, who responded that they dream that water enters the apartment and think that “few things will be worth obtaining in life if they can be lost at any moment,” he explained.

The specialist said that these symptoms appear temporarily, which should decrease as the tragedy passes, with the resolution of housing problems or other problems linked to the flood.

According to the television network, experts warned that the highest suicide rate in Brazil is in Rio Grande do Sul, even before the tragedy.

The Ministry of Health of the federal government of Brazil formed a team of 300 mental health professionals to care for those affected by storms and floods in Rio Grande do Sul since the end of last April.

The survey on the mental health of survivors aims to map neighborhoods and regions that should receive priority in public investment in the area of ​​mental health, such as the construction of care centers and the hiring of psychologists and psychiatrists.

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