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Lankans shouldering mountain of mental issues brought on by series of traumatic events since 2019 – experts

Published

4 years ago

2023/02/28

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Sri Lankans have been facing a series of traumatic events since 2019, and they have had a serious impact on their mental health, Dr. Kanthi Hettigoda, chartered clinical psychologist and senior lecturer, Department of Psychology, at the University of Peradeniya, says.

Asked whether the economic crisis can trigger trauma in individuals, Dr. Hettigoda said that it could occur, depending on their personality as well as the extent of the impact.

“Trauma can occur if someone experiences unexpected and significant changes. These changes can be those that affect them materially, or thinking patterns. Due to the economic crisis, a large number of people do not know what to expect next, and they might feel that the future will only be bad. Then they might experience trauma. There are people who have lost jobs, gone bankrupt, etc., due to the current crisis,” she said.

Dr. Hettigoda said that prior to the economic crisis, which began in 2022, Sri Lankans have been experiencing a series of economic and social crises. These events started from the Easter Sunday attacks, she said.

“Then we faced COVID, and now an economic crisis. So, a number of quite shocking events have accumulated. Easter Sunday attacks was definitely a trauma for all, COVID, too, can be traumatic, depending on the experiences someone faced, and the current socio-economic crisis have led to many negative emotions and outcomes,” she said.

Dr. Hettigoda opined that based on her practice and what she had observed at University, as an academic, most people were facing adjustment issues. There is a lot of anger, frustration, and disgust among Sri Lankans, in general. Unfortunately, given that Sri Lankans do not receive any education on mental health, a lot of people don’t know that they are showing symptoms of mental health issues, she said.

“Most don’t know what’s happening inside them. So, when they do not understand what’s going on, they fight within themselves and they fight with those who are closest to them. As a University academic, I see young people who are frustrated, and sometimes these frustrations are taken out on people around them and sometimes there is maladaptive behaviour”, she observed.

Meanwhile, Rushma Mohammed-Fronczak, clinical psychologist and ACE Certified Personal Trainer, who practises in Kandy, said that in the past year a lot of people had sought help for trauma, adjustment-related stresses, etc.

“There is severe anxiety about the future and this is the culmination of a series of events, over four years. Sri Lankans have a lot of problems, this is nothing new. Over the years, or even decades, they had developed coping mechanisms that helped them achieve mental wellbeing. What happened during COVID was that people were not able to engage in activities that helped them keep their wellbeing, things that helped you stay de-stressed. Couples discovered traumatic things about each other given that they were to spend the entire day with each other,” she said.

These led to many social issues, including an increase in domestic abuse during COVID. Mohammed-Fronczak said the economic crisis had occurred at a time when people started believing that things would get better following COVID-related restrictions.

“That hope got snatched away for a large part of the population. That brings in anxiety and hypervigilance. Crisis had the ripple effect of the crisis,” she said.

Dr. Hettigoda said given that once a person approaches a qualified mental health professional, identifying what’s wrong with a person is not difficult. However, most people do not seek health, mostly due to the lack of mental health literacy among Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankan government, and other stakeholders ,in the mental health promotion sector, need to provide a good psychological education. Even University students, or executive level officers, are not aware of common issues, like the symptoms of depression, she said.

Mohammed-Fronczak added that even those who have a rudimentary understanding of mental health issues, resort to looking up symptoms on the internet, where there is much inaccurate information. Sri Lankans need to be taught mental health literacy as there can be many typical, as well as atypical manifestations of mental health issues.

“Individuals themselves can be their smoke alarms. Everyone is an expert on themselves, and mental health professionals are only a guide, mirror or a safety net for some time. You are the expert of your own life, everyone has a version of what’s a good quality of life. It can be getting six hours of sleep, being able to enjoy the food, having time to spend with family and friends. These things help you keep grounded. You can use this baseline and notice changes,” she said.

A major problem in Sri Lanka is that there is a lack of research and a lack of qualified mental health professionals. Moreover, there is no link between researchers and professionals to share findings or discuss developments, Mohammed-Fronczak said.

“In other countries, researchers know what each other is doing. Here, we have a good set of people; they might be doing research in their own pockets. I wouldn’t know them, and they wouldn’t know what I am doing. We need a hub of information,” she said.

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Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/14

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.

The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.

Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.

Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.

News

CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process

Published

3 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.

Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.

The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.

Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.

Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.

Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.

The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.

Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.

The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.

The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.

SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.

Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

News

GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015

Published

3 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

Dhammika

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.

Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.

(SF)