Sarah Al-Rifai remembers with pain and sadness the moment of the Beirut port explosion. He froze for a few seconds and was unable to move, crying to Mama Mama .. ".
It is one of Beirut’s painful stories depicting what happened to her children and women at the moment of the explosion, a message that everything may be upended in an instant, and that joy may become life-long sadness.
While the afflicted Beirut is still counting its human and material losses resulting from the explosion of the port on 4 August, stories are emerging about people escaping their lives or the lives of their relatives, so every Lebanese has a story worth listening to.
The shock was greater than we imagined
Sarah Al-Rifai explains to Al-Jazeera Net that she did not understand for a moment what happened, "Yes, we miraculously survived, thank God, my husband had only minor bruises, but we were no longer the same as the first, the shock was greater than we imagined."
The psychological effects that remained were stronger than her, and she still felt cramping, insomnia and fear whenever she heard a strong voice, and she collapsed in tears when she was in her room so that her son would not see her in this way, and she also seeks to calm him in order to banish the moments of terror that he lived, "These are not moments. It is described, yes, I thank God that we have not been physically harmed nor have we lost each other, ”Sarah says.
She explains with sorrow that the greatest wound is the wound of the homeland, and the smaller the calamities that can be compensated and the material losses facing the loss of lives and those who have lost their loved ones. While we use phrases to describe an incident, the words do not find their meaning like what the eye can see and the heart feels.
Sarah notes, "We have faced many crises, but we are tired, the loss of lives is not compensated. We ask God for mercy and comfort for her people, and other losses that were limited to materialism, but took the fruit of life’s tiredness and gain. We have to pray to God for the sake of the suffering, the bereaved, and the injured, hoping that Lebanon will heal and life triumph." ".
Very terrifying moments that will not be forgotten
Katia Al Fouani is still in a state of shock and does not know what exactly happened to her, and she tries to remember what happened to her at that moment. She says: “I felt as if I was in a nightmare. I woke up from a coma after about an hour in the hospital where a wound was sutured in my forehead, blood covered my body and the bruises were clear I understood that my face hit the handrail and lost consciousness, and someone in the building helped me. "
When Katia returned to her home, she found everything around her destroyed. She is a resident of Ashrafieh, and she lives alone near her job in the profession of marketing and advertising. She says about her feelings now, "It cannot be described. I am still in a state of confusion, anxiety and panic. I am still under the influence of shock, unaware of what happened to me. Was it a nightmare or a reality? "
"In short, I am still in a state of amazement and fear of what happened. What happened was a great tragedy that left everyone in a state of loss because of the destruction, displacement, displacement, wounded and martyrs they left. These are very horrific moments that will not be forgotten."
Symptoms of memories of a traumatic explosion
After a traumatic event such as the Beirut explosion, it is normal for the individual to feel disturbing psychological symptoms, including bad mood, disturbed eating and sleep, and physical aches, as well as a feeling of immobility, cramping, sadness, anxiety, insomnia, as well as anger and irritability, fear of recurring the incident and other The symptoms, explains Rayan Al-Badawi Al-Najjar, a mental health specialist for Al-Jazeera Net.
She points to "recovering the painful memories of the accident, and perhaps the person's sense of excessive shame due to survival or guilt for not being able to save others or not occupying the missing person with a conversation before leaving the house and thus protecting him from the explosion."
Although some of these symptoms are symptoms of depressive disorder, mourning or post-traumatic stress disorder, no diagnosis can be given at this time unless these symptoms persist for at least a month, according to Specialist Ryan.
Psychotherapy for Beirut women
After the shock of the Beirut explosion, it is natural for women to feel these symptoms. Some of them act as a defense mechanism for survival and continuity and to carry out daily duties such as caring for children and their needs.
Specialist Ryan points out that every woman experiences different symptoms, as there are those who may feel fear, tension, sleep disturbance, as well as nightmares and fear when hearing any sound. Others experience various symptoms, such as recalling the images of the explosion, the sound of the explosion, the unwillingness to speak, and the fear of losing a family member, which prevents them from going out for fear of them or checking them constantly.
It also shows the suffering of women and mothers who have lost a family member such as a father, husband or son, which is the support, support and safety of most families. With his loss, the family and the woman miss this role, and this role falls upon her, especially if she becomes the sole provider for her family, and for this they become in fear of losing any other family member, especially males, says Specialist Rayan.
Women live a 'mysterious loss'
Ryan continues, "There are some women who are still waiting to know the fate of their loved ones who have no information about them, whether they are alive or dead. They are living in a state of" ambiguous loss ", as the researcher Pauline Boss, an American researcher, calls it. Pioneer of what is now known as ambiguous loss theory.
Until this hour, there is no confirmed news about the fate of those who lost, so these women are difficult to go through the stages of mourning and live with the hope of the return of these missing persons.
Tips for women to overcome trauma
Specialist Ryan stresses that it is very important to "tell the woman that what she feels is very normal at this stage, and respect her desire not to speak or listen to us, with the importance of listening to her if she wants to speak and talk about the feelings she is going through, or re-mention the details of the incident and how I tested it and the ideas that came with it, and which it is now having. "
Rayan advises women to try to eat and sleep as much as possible, and to avoid taking sedative medications, because this may delay the ability to recover, and if it is necessary to consult a psychiatrist.
Follow-up news should be avoided - as much as possible - with a return to beautiful memories to enhance the desire for life and move forward towards the future, and resort to a psychotherapist to provide the necessary support in this difficult period.