ACCORDING TO CLINICAL OFFICIALS…THE FAST-RISING CRIME RATE IS CREATING MENTAL PAIN FOR JAMAICANS!

Clinical officials are warning against the psychological effects of crime as they have seen where more Jamaicans, including children, are being treated for increased anxiety and depression as a result of the fast-rising crime numbers in recent times.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Dr. Beverley Scott, child and family therapist, said that a majority of the clients that she has been treating in the last couple of weeks are very close to a mental diagnosis because of crime.

“So many people are depressed and COVID compounds the problem. There are so many people I have dealt with who are bordering on mental illness. They are so depressed and suffering from anxiety. They are panicking. And panicking is a sort of palpitation of the heart that makes you feel like you’re going to die. I’m seeing a lot of people panicking and thinking that they are going to die,” Scott said.

“I have to assure them that it is just anxiety and a panic attack. I would ask how many times they got the attack and some of them may say three or four times. So I ask: How many times have you died? and they laugh. It’s emotional. It’s really bad in this country.”

Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) data shows that 72 murders were recorded in the first 15 days of this year. That is a 24 per cent increase when compared to the corresponding period last year.

Scott told the Sunday Observer that people are more prone to depression and anxiety because of a lack of interaction.

“A lot of people are scared, and they are not socializing as they used to. People prefer to stay inside. Even recently, I heard people saying, ‘You may not be involved, but you could get caught in crossfire.’ That’s how sensitive people have become. That is how serious it has become.

“One time it was far from certain families. Now almost every family in Jamaica has had experience with crime and violence and has lost somebody to crime and violence. It cannot be worse. We are such a small country and the proportion of people who get killed is really alarming. It’s a cause for concern.”

Sonia Brown, a member of the Occupational Therapy Association of Jamaica told the Sunday Observer that: “A lot of persons are anxious, and some are very anxious to the point that they are paranoid. Some people don’t even want to go out to church or anything like that. Crime has spiralled out of control now. That’s why we have been living behind grilles how many years now.”

Brown reiterated the importance of being active despite COVID-19 restrictions.

“With COVID, I have been saying to people that they need to keep busy, although we have to keep away from each other to some extent. We still need to be actively engaged to prevent us from becoming depressed and covered with anxiety,” she said.

Moreover, Scott warned that children aren’t immune to the crime-triggered mental health risks.

“Children are dying as well, and children are scared. When children become scared and anxious, and when things affect them psychologically, they do not manifest their feelings like adults. An adult may call a friend and may get some comfort by talking, but children do not behave like that,” she explained.

“Children, if they are depressed, they develop behavioral problems. And so, it has a real serious effect on children. They develop what we call childhood disorders with all of these things happening in our communities and in our nation.”

Dr Kristen Robinson Barret, a St Catherine-based psychiatrist told the Sunday Observer that, even before the uptick in crime as of late, she has been treating patients for crime-related issues.

“Certainly, we are seeing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as anxiety. I can think of cases that come to mind based on the violence in their communities now,” Robinson Barret said, noting that these people weren’t directly impacted by crime; instead, they are from communities where crime is rampant.

“Some of the communities in St Catherine tend to have violence even outside of the uptick recently, and so I had always been seeing a lot of persons dealing with trauma.”

Robinson Barret added, however, that many people were being treated.

“And I think there are a lot of persons who are undiagnosed, so you may also notice that someone has come [for treatment] for themselves, and even the relatives have stressors, but they are not the patients. You may make an observation that they, too, have been affected.”

She urged people to seek professional help when they notice change among themselves.

“There’s no illness called madness. We know people believe it is. There are multiple mental health conditions, so coming to the clinic, you could be coming for any number of reasons. Everyone who comes to a mental health clinic is not coming for the same reason. Secondly, therapy is not one size fits all.

“It’s not just someone listening, it’s someone creating a tailored process for you to overcome whatever it is that you are going through and ignoring it isn’t going to necessarily make it go away. So taking that approach doesn’t end up being helpful in the long run.”

Meanwhile, Scott called for more mental health agents.

“We need to dispatch social workers and emotional support to communities so people can get help. This is where it has reached. The Government needs to get persons who are trained in behaviour management to go into communities and stay there; have posts there so people can talk to them. People really need to talk. So many things are happening.”

Robinson Barret added: “Similar to medical illnesses, as it relates to your physical body, your mental health is also going to impact your ability to function just as much if not more. So we believe that we should take care of our physical body but not take care of our mental health. We really have to get over that. In the end, the persons who take care of their mental health end up doing better than those who try to go it alone or try to ignore it.”

Dr Aggrey Irons, consultant psychiatrist and past president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), told the Sunday Observer that he couldn’t speak directly to crime, but has been seeing more serious cases of anxiety as of late.

“Generally, I’m seeing more anxiety and some very severe anxiety for a number of reasons, but to say specifically that it’s crime-related would require that we do a strict question-and-answer kind of protocol that goes with the rigors of research,” he said.