Srinagar, Sept 27: Living in Kashmir and not remembering day and date? Well, this is what health experts call ‘disturbed biological-clock’ syndrome, attributing it to prolonged indoor confinements amid abnormal situations particularly curfews.
Health experts said the continued indoor confinement amid abnormal situations prevailing here for the past about four months has disturbed the biological clock in the humans in Kashmir. “This has resulted in a situation that people don’t remember dates and even the week days,” they said.
More than 80 per cent of the people Greater Kashmir talked to acknowledged that they were facing this problem. “Not to talk of other days, I don’t even remember Friday when one is particular about offering the obligatory congregational prayers,” said Firdous Ahmed, an engineer by profession.
Confined indoors, Firdous said he first thought he was not remembering the dates. “But after sometime I couldn’t remember the days as well.”

EVERYBODY’S PROBLEM
Surprisingly, the problem is being faced even by professionals like doctors, cops and journalists who continued with their assignments during the unrest.
“I come to hospital everyday and do my normal work. But still I too don’t remember days as everyday appears to be a Sunday,” said a medico at SMHS Hospital.
Similar sounded a journalist: “I doubt remembering the perfect date. While writing the dateline, I ensure to crosscheck it with my colleagues.”

EXPERTS OPINE
Psychiatrists related the situation to the restrictions on the civilian movement, which often makes people stay indoors, away from the normal activities.
The psychiatrists said remembering of time situations was a natural phenomenon in response to everyday life. “But when you don’t have any particular schedule for the day, there’s a disorientation in time due to lack of requisite information which comes naturally and brain registers it,” explained a senior psychiatrist, requesting not to be named.
“The biological rhythm or to say the circadian rhythm, which otherwise tells the brain about the day and date, has got disturbed and you don’t register the passive information needed for brain to remain oriented in time,” he adds.

IRONY
Interestingly, otherwise (or in normal situations) such problem can be faced by people with a ‘severe brain condition’. “Such are the complaints of patients, mostly elderly, suffering from problem of memory loss in old age where they have other cognitive problems as well,” he says.

DON’T PANIC
But, as per the experts, there’s nothing to worry about the time problem being faced in Kashmir situation.
“This is a normal reaction to abnormal situation. Once the problem of forced confinement is over, things will get back to normal,” he added.

RESTRICTING REASONS
Pertinently, since June 11 when teenager Tufail Ahmed Mattoo was killed, the Valley has been facing tumultuous situations as the civilian death toll has touched 110 while some 2000 are injured.
There have been shutdowns and people staging roadside demonstrations while the government often imposes curfew and restrictions to “maintain law and order.”

Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST