After Turkey's earthquake, a grave mental health toll looms

"I keep thinking another disaster will strike at that time and just wait for it to pass," said Gul, 28, who managed to run out of her family house with her mother moments before the walls of her house collapsed during the tremors.

After reaching the street barefoot, Gul saw the dead bodies of neighbors killed by falling concrete. She remembers the screams of people trapped in collapsed buildings.

Gul said the horror had put a heavy toll on the mental health of survivors who "lost everything" in the city of Antakya, which was devastated by the quake. She wants to one day seek professional help to address the trauma, but for now establishing a new life for herself and her family is the only priority.

The 7.8 earthquake magnitude earthquake, the most deadly in modern Turkey's history, will have a deep psychological impact, experts and officials say. More than 44,300 people died in the country and over 1.5 million were left homeless in freezing conditions. Millions have lost family members, jobs, life savings and their hopes for the future.