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War is one of the main factors in the development of anxiety, whether it is citizens who are exposed to violence, or whether it is soldiers who are in combat zones. Studies show that exposure to war severely affects people's mental health, mainly through the development of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress.

Anxiety is a natural response of the body to situations of stress or threat, but when it appears excessively or disproportionately to reality, it may interfere with daily life and lead to significant mental distress. Anxiety can appear in various forms, including feelings of increased worry, fear, physical tension, difficulty concentrating and even physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, tremors, dizziness or difficulty breathing.

The 32nd President of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt said: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - a fear that has no name, no logic and no justification that paralyzes our efforts to move forward."

Ronit: Disconnect from the news and talks about war

Ronit, The mother of two says that since October 7 she has not slept one night in a row. "I wake up every two hours from horrible dreams that flood me, feeling deep fear, really anxious. I get up, check that the children are okay in their beds, wash the sweat off my face and try to go back to sleep. It's hard. I'm afraid to take sleeping pills because if something happens I'll sleep and not eat to function, so I just don't sleep. Tired all the time, have trouble concentrating, but function as much as I can.

I tried meditations, I went to all kinds of treatments, it helped a little. I learned to breathe when I wake up from nightmares, to calm myself, but the dreams keep coming. Apparently I need to disconnect from the news, disconnect from conversations about war and the horrible movies of the war to distance myself from this tension. When we were abroad on vacation, I slept great. But as soon as we returned, the nightmares returned. I was already thinking of leaving the country, taking the children and moving to another place for a few years, but I can't leave my parents here alone."

Ronit is not an isolated case. The level of anxiety increases during wartime. A sense of worry intensifies, negative thoughts multiply, a sense of danger and a lack of control over reality increase during wartime. During wars and military conflicts, anxiety is considered a natural psychological response resulting from exposure to traumatic events such as injuries, death of loved ones, shelling, shooting, threat of physical harm or loss of property. The anxiety in these situations stems from the feeling of lack of control over the future and continuous uncertainty. Although this is a natural response to challenging situations, this phenomenon can turn into an anxiety disorder.

A sense of threat and trauma situations

Anxiety states during war are a common phenomenon among populations that are exposed to situations of conflict and high risk. War creates a constant sense of threat, traumatic situations, personal insecurity and existential fear. All of these can lead to acute anxiety reactions in civilians, adults and children as well as soldiers who have experienced battlefield and war events. The studies conducted in this area indicate the serious psychological effects of war and the factors that intensify the feeling of anxiety in such situations.

Studies of civilian populations in combat zones report very high rates of anxiety, especially among women, children and the elderly. For example, studies done on civilians in Gaza and Israel during conflicts show an increase in anxiety symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and sleep disorders. Direct exposure to violent events increases the risk of mental disorders, including persistent anxiety.

A study conducted in Israel during "Operation Strong Cliff" (2014) showed that approximately 28% of the population in the south of the country experienced significant symptoms of anxiety due to the shelling and the ongoing threat. Additional studies indicate that children who are exposed to war tend to develop social anxiety, sleep problems and academic performance difficulties.

Meir: "Anxiety drives us״

Meir He was drafted into the reserves towards the end of October. He was happy that he was called to the reserves and felt that he could do a lot together with the members of the unit for the sake of the country. He thought that he had already seen everything and felt everything in the operations in which he participated as a regular corpsman, so he was not afraid to enter Gaza. After four months he was released home, and a short time later was recruited again to the northern front. But this time he was no longer in the sense of omnipotence as he used to know how to feel. The images he saw passed before his eyes in a repeating loop. The screams, the shooting, the smell of death and the empty eyes of his friends, haunted him.

Meir: "If I have post-traumatic stress disorder? Probably yes, but who has time to deal with it now. I suppress it, move it aside. It jumps out at me, sometimes it wraps around my whole body like a snake trying to swallow me, but I shake it off, try to change my mind , to remember the beautiful things in life. I owe them my sanity. I can't afford to have anxiety attacks all the time.

Things that once went through me now make me anxious. I was never afraid. Now I have protected the house, I replaced the door and the window with a MMAD, I arranged a fence and cameras around the house, I constantly have the feeling that at any moment we can be attacked and I have to be ready to protect my family. My wife and I go to the ranges, practice self-defense. Every noise makes me jump. Us, every boom brings anxiety, everything is dangerous and scary.

Clearly, anxiety is driving us now. It is no longer logic or reality. I don't let the children go anywhere alone, I warn them not to stand at bus stops next to people because there are drivers who commit drive-by attacks, I warn them about everything. If I put fear in them? Obviously I'm exaggerating, but I feel I have no choice, because everything is very, very dangerous and scary."

studies and symptoms

Soldiers who are exposed to combat may experience strong anxiety attacks and a psychological reaction resulting from constant danger to their lives. Anxiety among soldiers may develop into post-traumatic stress disorders, especially when soldiers experience the loss of comrades in arms, serious injuries, or prolonged exposure to combat.

A study of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan showed that approximately 12%-20% of the soldiers reported symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. In studies of soldiers who survived the Vietnam War, a similar phenomenon was found: a high rate of anxiety symptoms and the development of PTSD, which affected the soldiers' ability to reintegrate into society after the war.

The emotional symptoms of anxiety can be expressed in a constant feeling of worry, fear or restlessness. The mental symptoms are characterized by disturbing thoughts, uncontrollable worries and disaster scenarios, and the physical symptoms are accelerated heartbeats, shortness of breath, sweating, tremors, dizziness, nausea, headaches or tense muscles, lack of control over the sphincters, and the like.

Studies indicate that the response to anxiety during wartime varies according to demographic factors such as age, gender and socio-economic status. Children tend to react with increased anxiety due to their inability to understand the situation and deal with it. Women, especially if they are mothers of children, tend to experience increased anxiety due to a sense of responsibility to protect their children, and often show higher symptoms of depression and anxiety than men.

There are several types of anxiety:

  1. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): A condition in which a person experiences excessive and uncontrollable worry about everyday issues, such as work, family or health, for an extended period of time.
  2. Panic disorder: Sudden attacks of intense anxiety, accompanied by physical symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, feeling of suffocation or chest pains.
  3. phobia: An excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity, such as a fear of heights, flying or certain animals.
  4. social anxiety: A feeling of excessive fear of criticism or humiliation in social situations, such as speaking in front of an audience or meeting new people.
  5. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A condition caused by traumatic experiences, which causes symptoms such as intrusive memories, nightmares and avoidance of situations that remind of the event.

Nira: "Only those who have children in the army will understand"

The anxiety levels of the population are increasing due to many factors. Exposure to publications of content about combat events and wars affects the anxiety levels of populations even in places that are not on the front line. Studies indicate that prolonged exposure to images of violence and fighting increases the feeling of anxiety, even among those who do not experience the fighting directly.

Other factors are a sense of uncertainty when and how the conflict will end, and what its consequences will be. Exposure to violence, loss of loved ones, injuries or threats to life, causes the development of deep anxiety. In extreme situations, lack of food, water or medicine, economic problems and threats to livelihoods increase the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety. The concern about the safety and security of family members, especially children, is a major factor in the appearance of increased anxiety.

to shoot There are two sons and a daughter, and all three are currently in their military service, some regular and others in the reserves. She is at home, waiting for the hours when they suddenly arrive, tired and hungry, prepares them delicacies, washes their uniforms and with a heavy heart when the time comes, sends them back to their units, asks them to be safe, to be careful and to return safely. Nira: "Those who do not have children in the army will not understand this. The anxiety, the fear, the ton and a half that sit on your heart and don't let you breathe until they return. Just that they return safely. That's all I ask.

Nothing matters now. Only this. I go to work, in the afternoon I volunteer at an organization that treats people with anxiety, and I myself am constantly afraid. I don't hear news. Can no longer absorb the difficult news. Every time they start talking about politics or the war, I run away. don't want to hear can't anymore As if my body does not allow me to hold even one more ounce of stress because I will fall apart, and I need to be strong for my children.

In recent times there have been alarms in my area and many booms of the Iron Dome and falls in the surrounding areas. If it scares me? Of course, but on the other hand I tell myself that I am part of the war struggle in fact that I stay in Israel. That my children are in the army here, that I don't leave the house despite the security situation. So on the one hand I'm terribly anxious, but on the other hand I feel like a hero."

The young are more vulnerable and need to be treated

One of the most prominent studies on anxiety attacks during wartime was conducted following the Second Lebanon War (2006) in Israel, by the Trauma Research Center at Tel Aviv University. The study examined the effects of the war on the mental health of the residents of the north of the country, who were subjected to heavy shelling of missiles during it.

The purpose of the study was to test the effect of exposure to traumatic events, such as missile attacks, on symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the civilian population.

A survey was conducted among over 1,200 residents in the north of the country, who were directly exposed to missile attacks, and compared the symptoms of anxiety and trauma to those who were not directly exposed.

The main findings showed that about 33% of the subjects who lived in the shelling areas reported significant anxiety symptoms, which included feelings of constant fear, accelerated heartbeats and avoidance of public places. About 15% of the northern population showed clinical symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) resulting from direct exposure to life-threatening conditions during the shelling.

The study found that children and young adults were more vulnerable to developing anxiety symptoms compared to adults over the age of 40, indicating the effect of age and emotional maturity on dealing with stressful situations. The study's conclusions emphasized the connection between exposure to violent events during war and the development of anxiety attacks and post-traumatic symptoms among the civilian population. The study indicated the need for support and treatment systems to deal with negative psychological effects in war situations.

contact: At watsapBy email

Tammy Goldstein
Tammy Goldstein
Caller, Hilarit, a spiritual teacher specializing in personal and couple holistic counseling and energy therapy to balance the body and emotions, with over 20 years of experience

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תגובה 1

  1. Haifaim, don't worry... Nasrallah will have a replacement.
    Sinuar asks that you go out tonight to demonstrate/mourn your saint from Lebanon, in his name

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