Waiting in queues takes its toll on people’s health: Psychiatrist

By Lalith Chaminda

Those who stayed in fuel and gas queues for over 12 hours faced a high probability of showing physical symptoms of depression, Dr. Rumi Ruban, Consultant Psychiatrist, Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya, said.

“No one is in these queues because they want to. Everyone is unhappy and angry and this can lead to many physical and mental issues,” he said.

Dr. Ruban said that those in kerosene and gas queues were exposed to the sun.

“We only hear about people dying but a lot more are hospitalised because of waiting for a long time in queues.

A lot of elderly people are seen in kerosene and gas queues and there are many people with non-communicable diseases,” he said, adding that even those in peak physical condition were affected by physical manifestation of depression after long hours in queues. The immune system of those in depressive states also weakened.

“On the other hand, there are many people in queues who need to take medication. Those in queues often forget to take them because of stress. Because of the queues, a lot of people neglect medical tests and health checkups, as well. Ideally, only young people should be in queues. If possible, members of a family can take turns when having to stay in queues for a long time,” he said.

He said that queues were potential sites of violent confrontations because of the mental state most people were in. “Most people in queues are angry. These mental states also make physiological changes, too. Because of that, do not get into arguments in queues, Dr. Ruban said.