After Maraş-centered powerful earthquake, a grave mental health toll looms

It has been three weeks since Tuğçe Seren Gül's aunt and grandmother were killed in Antakya when a devastating earthquake struck Türkiye's southeast. And yet every night, she waits until 4.17 am in the morning, the exact time that the disaster hit, to try to go to sleep. 'I keep thinking another disaster will strike at that time and just wait for it to pass,' said Gül, 28, who managed to run out of her family house with her mother moments before the walls of her house collapsed during the tremors. The 7.8 earthquake magnitude earthquake, the most deadly in modern Türkiye's history, will have a deep psychological impact, experts and officials say. More than 44,300 people died in the country and over 1.5 million were left homeless in freezing conditions. Millions have lost family members, jobs, life savings and their hopes for the future. CHILDREN AT RISK At a large camp for displaced people next to Hatay Stadium on the outskirts of Antakya, psychosocial support teams have set up small play areas and pitched tents filled with toys. Children sat on multicolored chairs in front of a large portable screen that played cartoons. Some children played hopscotch. Türkiye's Ministry of Family and Social Services said it has dispatched more than 3,700 social workers to support the survivors across the quake zone. But a large 6.4 magnitude earthquake last Monday shattered efforts to give the children some feeling of normalcy amid weeks of terrifying after shocks. 'CONSTANT, CHRONIC STRESS' People look numb, likely a defense mechanism to deal with insurmountable stress, according to Selçuk. Anxiety, helplessness and depression are likely to be common and young people could feel a sense of rage. Rebuilding efforts should include mental health, Selçuk said, urging the government to provide funding for trained psychologists to be sent to the quake zone and stay there. 'Sustainability is key. We shouldn't withdraw our attention three months later,' she said.