‘This is too much for me’
Crime-battered society sees many children, adults with post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders
MORE THAN 1,000 persons die violently in Jamaica each year. Their lives are snuffed out in various circumstances, including robbery, child abuse, reprisals, gang warfare, domestic violence and police killings.
Death of a loved one can be frightening, but sudden, violent death can leave families reeling with incomprehensible grief, pain and confusion.
Night after night, families of murdered loved ones are featured on the news and they say things like, “I feel like I am going crazy,” or “I don’t know how I am going to cope.”
These expressions about the impact of grief weighed heavily on Fourth Floor participants as they met in search of solutions to the violence that has created so many bereaved families, and which continues to threaten the stability of Jamaica.
Professor Wendel Abel, who heads the Psychiatric Department at the University of the West Indies (UWI), confirmed the heavy toll of violence on the society.
“The physical scars associated with acts of violence may heal, but often the emotional scars never heal. And if they do, they take a long, long, long time,” he said.
In the context of a society where murder has become commonplace, the wounds are even harder to heal and the grieving process is extended whenever the survivors relive the pain of death by watching the news or hearing stories of violence.
EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE
As a psychiatrist, Abel says he often feels the weight of the effects of violence. “There are many times when I walk out of my office and I have to say, ‘This is too much for me. I am actually going through it every single day.’”
Drawing the picture of a society overwhelmed with crime, violence and trauma, consultant psychiatrist Dr Earl Wright and his 24-member task force said this in their report: “Jamaica has become plagued by very high rates of violence, giving rise to many children and adults with
post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, depression and anxiety.” So where do grieving people go for help? Therein lies the challenge, Abel responded. “We do have within the public-health system, mental-health services, but the services are overwhelmed and cannot adequately respond to the violence. The bulk of the professionals are concentrated in the Kingston Metropolitan Area. And the Ministry of Health faces a shortage of personnel.” This was confirmed in Wright’s report: “The community mentalhealth services are severely under-resourced and unable to cope with the many
needs, including early diagnosis and treatment.”
COUNSELLING
The breach is often filled by professionals like the Rev Dr Devon Dick, pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and president of the Jamaica Baptist Union, who confirmed that counselling is a significant part of his ministry.
“First of all, you have to listen to allow the person to speak and being non-judgmental ... over a period of time, you try to lead the person to some form of acceptance and then integration, and help them put their life back together, otherwise they are going to be depressed.”
It was stressed that there is no time stamp on grief. Because of the complexity of grief, there are clearly no quick fixes.