Thirty-year-old Aparna Sawant, admitted to KEM Hospital’s ward no.8, hasn’t been able to sleep at length. “Every half an hour, she wakes up startled,” said her husband Sachin.
Ms. Sawant was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state on the day of the stampede. As she fell unconscious, the recall of the event was limited. But pictures of the stampede on her WhatsApp made her restless after she spotted herself in a purple sari under a pile of people.
“For Navratri, we had decided to wear sari in office. I was wearing a purple one and had a brown purse on me. The moment I spotted the sari and the purse in one of the pictures, I knew it was me. I felt choked and suffocated,” said Ms. Sawant, who works in a garment firm at Elphinstone, and travels every day from Chinchpokli.
On Monday, Ms. Sawant was among the several patients evaluated by a team of psychiatrists.
“They are suffering from acute stress reaction, which is common after such a traumatic experience. We have to ensure that they don’t develop a full-blown Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” said Dr. Shubhangi Parker, head of KEM’s psychiatry department.
Victims
“At least seven of them are in need of continued counselling. They have severe anxiety and sleep disorders. Others have taken it in the positive stride and they feel fortunate to be alive,” said Dr. Parker. While many patients required sedatives for sleep disorders, two patients have been put on anti-anxiety medication.
Pradnya Bagwe (48) and her husband Pramod were among those who have shown signs of severe stress. The reason is that their only daughter, 21-year-old Hemal, who is studying engineering in a Govandi college, has to travel every day from the same station.
“I don’t know how I will step on that staircase again. But I can’t imagine my daughter in that place at all. The thought of my daughter travelling from there are troubling me,” said Ms. Bagwe.
On Tuesday, the parents ensured that Ms. Hemal takes her train from Dadar. “The Dadar station is equally crowded. But the thought of her going to Elphinstone was killing me inside,” said Mr. Pramod, adding that his daughter could not bunk her college because of the internal examinations. While Mr. Pramod was discharged from the hospital on Sunday, Ms. Bagwe was among 14 who were discharged on Tuesday. Only five patients remain at the hospital.
Dr. Parker said such behaviour is not uncommon. After the 26/7 deluge, Dr. Parker had seen many cases of PTSD. She cited an example of a Sion resident who shivered at the slightest of rainfall and lightening. The memories of being trapped in the floods overpowered him so much that he left the city, his job, wife and two children, and started living a recluse life in Kolhapur. After rigorous counselling and drug therapy, he was able to finally cope with his fear.
“It is like these patients have recorded a video of the tragic event. They tend to replay it over and over,” said Mumbai-based psychiatrist Dr. Rajendra Barve. He also said that over a period of time, these patients give startled reactions and find themselves trapped in the same situation in their mind.
“Some people may be able to respond differently to the situation by taking up a cause while some find it difficult,” said Dr. Barve, adding that it may take about six-eight weeks for PTSD to set in. “But memories of such events last a year or longer. It again gains momentum when people recall the event on the same day after a year,” he said, suggesting that counselling and listening with empathy is the best medicine.
