Load shedding causing psychological disorders among citizens

[LRE]

Load shedding causing psychological disorders among citizens

By Afnan Khan



LAHORE: Massive load shedding is causing sleeping disorders and psychological ailments among people during the summer days. Doctors have urged the government not to cut electricity at night in order to save citizens from psychological disorders.

“I cannot sleep due to severe heat because I am a patient of high blood pressure and I go almost crazy when the light goes off at night,” Nargis Sarwar, a Muslim Town resident, told DailyTimes. She is one of dozens of patients thronging the clinics of psychologists as a result of sleep disorder, hypertension, anxiety and depression caused by lack of sleep.

She said that she had not slept for the required number of hours as she woke up in the middle of her sleep when the lights went off after every three hours. She said that this had affected her behaviour negatively. She was getting irritated over petty things and kept arguing with her family and friends throughout the day.

Ikram Khan, a resident of Gulberg III, said that he was a civil engineer at a government organisation. He said that he felt that he was getting sick due to load shedding during the nights as he had to wake up as soon as the lights went off.” I cannot sleep until the electricity is back and so I am half asleep during the day and cannot concentrate on my work,” Khan said.

Beaconhouse National University (BNU) student Muhammad Asif said that he was unable to prepare for his exams due to frequent load shedding and it was adversely affecting his health and academic life simultaneously. He said that it was the responsibility of the government to provide citizens with basic necessities of life, including electricity.

Mayo Hospital Psychiatry Department Head Dr Riaz Bhatti said that sleep was very essential for a healthy life and depriving people of uninterrupted sleep was causing them to suffer from depression and anxiety.

Psychiatrist Dr Haroon Rasheed said that the basic cause of the increasing number of patients with psychological problems was the ongoing load shedding. He urged the government to revise the load shedding schedule and not to cut the power supply during sleep hours.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg13_3