Does a disaster worsen anxiety when you are already anxious? Psychological consequences following exposure to a M7.1 earthauake in an outoatient anxietv disorder oooulation

Keywords: Anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, peritraumatic distress, personality temperament, earthquake The negative effects of a disaster triggered by a natural hazard event (hereafter termed disaster) on psychological functioning include risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and elevated levels of distress (Dorahy & Kannis-Dymand, 2012; Morganstein, & Ursano, 2020; Neria et al., 2008; Norris et al., 2002; Reifels et al., 2017; Warsini et al., 2014). To date, limited evidence suggests that pre-existing mental health problems increase the risk of developing post-trauma psychopathology following a disaster. In a review of 33 patients with a severe mental illness who were exposed to the Canadian Ice Storm (1998) and endured several days without power and displacement from their homes, those with existing psychological disorders were no more likely to be admitted to hospital during the storm than at other times, with only one person requiring hospitalisation due to storm-related distress (McMurray & Steiner, 2000). The authors suggested that psychiatric patients may not have experienced significant difficulties during and after the crisis because the integrity of the service delivery structure was maintained, and patients were assured continued access to psychiatric care.