Reversing the Trend of Emotional Lows: The Case of the Beirut Explosion

ENAR

“The impact of a traumatic event of this intensity and scale goes well beyond what the eye can see. It is therefore important to acknowledge that victims of this traumatic event are not only limited to survivors of physical injuries, as victims include responders and witnesses who might also exhibit psychological and emotional distress. In other words, if you are a person (not even a Lebanese citizen) with ties to Lebanon, its community, or select individuals, you could very well be impacted by the Beirut Blast. In the aftermath of this disaster, we are therefore looking at a very wide group of victims who has a high likelihood of manifesting various forms of psychological reactions to the trauma.”  In this in-depth piece, Booz Allen Hamilton covers the five typical phases of emotional response to disasters in the context of the August 4 explosion in Lebanon, and how to counter emotional