Fernando A. Muñoz
Lecturer of Psychopathology and Clinical Psychology at CES Cardenal Cisneros
Currently, there are basically three large groups of people directly affected by the situation:
- Relatives of the deceased.
- Passengers who were on the trains involved in the accident, especially those who were injured.
- Relatives/acquaintances of passengers on the trains involved in the accident.
The most common symptoms in the early hours are anxiety and depression, and the intensity/severity of the symptoms depends on multiple factors. Each person's situation must be assessed individually.
The overall management of the critical situation that has occurred (information and assistance received, logistics, etc.) is very important, especially the psychological assistance provided at this time in family care centres/hospitals to help them cope with the current situation, adapted to the specific circumstances of each person, as this will help them manage their symptoms and psychological adaptability in the face of the accident they have suffered.
As for railway users, it is possible that they may experience a certain amount of anxious anticipation and, in some cases, avoidance behaviours; the information conveyed to the population and the management of the double accident will have a significant influence on the population's response.