Stress disorder rising among flood-affected people in Kashmir

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is on the rise in Kashmir Valley after the worst ever floods hit the state earlier this month.
Psychiatrists in Srinagar say that there has been a remarkable increase in the number of patients who were suffering from "early symptoms" of PTSD.
PTSD is a condition that develops after an individual goes through a terrifying ordeal that involves physical harm or the threat of a physical harm.
"The condition develops amongst the people who may have gone through some physical harm or might have witnessed their loved ones or the people around them being harmed," Dr Bashir Ahmed, a psychiatrist at a medical camp in Hydepora, told PTI.

According to doctors, PTSD patients suffer "panic attacks" if any event reminds them of the ordeal they have gone through.
"Earlier we were treating PTSD patients who were victims of the turmoil in the Valley. There were patients who had seen their loved ones die or the people who themselves have had close shave with death. But now we are treating patients who are witness to the ordeal caused by the floods," said Dr Waseem Wani, another psychiatrist at the camp.
The doctors say that though it takes around three months for a person to fully develop the symptoms, they are trying their best to treat the disorder before it takes a more alarming shape.

"The full-blown symptoms take more than three months to show, but a large number of flood victims are already showing these symptoms," Dr Bashir said.