2024-01-18 20:45:19
Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Israel has been drowning in a psychological flood, while tens of thousands of settlers suffer from depression, isolation, and the risk of suicide.
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“Israel” is drowning in a psychological flood… Tens of thousands of settlers live in depression, isolation, and the risk of suicide
According to Maariv newspaper, since Saturday 10/07/2023, Israel has been facing the largest wave of psychological shock since its establishment, according to estimates by psychiatric experts.
Since that day, it has witnessed a “flood” of communications in the mental health system, which is estimated to grow to enormous proportions, because what is happening, according to experts, is only the beginning of the wave.
According to Maariv, health funds and medical centers are facing the largest mental health crisis to ever hit Israel, as tens of thousands (and perhaps hundreds of thousands) suffer from depression, anxiety, and isolation, while the reality of the mental health system in Israel indicates that – Since before the war – he has lived in a state of inadequacy, with patients sometimes waiting several months to be seen, and the mental health system being overwhelmed with unanswered calls.
Israeli youth are at risk: 47% of them use drugs
On the occasion of more than 100 days of war in the Gaza Strip, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper published a report, prepared by the “Youth” Association, which works in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Welfare, regarding the state of anxiety experienced by Israeli settlers who left the settlements, near the Gaza Strip. Gaza and the Lebanese border.
Data published by the association, which accompanies “the group of young Israelis” who were evacuated from their homes due to the war, showed that regarding 60% of them report feeling lonely, and regarding 46% report feeling depressed and afraid.
In addition, the association indicated that there is a phenomenon of dropping out of educational frameworks, as it appeared that 51% of the young men followed by the association reported that “they have not been integrated into the educational or social environment since the outbreak of the war.”
In this context, the Director of Psychological Fields at the Youth Association said, “Some of these young people are not ready to return to school, and some of them are unable, and they do not succeed in returning, due to fear, depression, the experience of fear of leaving the room, and extreme difficulties in acquiring social skills.” “.
In additional data, published by the “Shabab” Association in its report, it was found that regarding 47% of young people aged 12-15, who were evicted from their homes, used tranquilizers and alcohol.
Also, 20% were involved in violent incidents, and in one out of every eight of these incidents, the police were called.
In its report, the association quoted the testimony of a young man, who said, “What has happened to me and my friends since 10/07 is hell and chaos.”
The association warned, in its report, that these data lead to phenomena of suicide and loss of appetite, so that it was actually observed that there was an increase of approximately 10% in these matters compared to the previous year.
“Mental health” cases have reached a scale never seen before
The Jerusalem Post newspaper published a report on mental health in Israel, stating that the mental health system in Israel is overwhelmed with requests for assistance that cannot be met.
Waiting lists stretch for months as health organizations work to manage the growing number of mental health cases, which has reached a “volume never seen before”.
She pointed out that the (psychological) distress hotlines of the ERAN network, for example, alone handle more than 100,000 calls in this area, which is unprecedented. HMOs are also seeing a significant increase in inquiries related to mental health.
In this context, Israeli psychiatry experts say that “Israel is facing the most severe psychological shock wave since its founding,” and they estimate that one in three people who were directly or indirectly affected by the war may develop post-traumatic stress disorder in the next few months.
For example, Clalit Health Services Group reported a 25% increase in psychiatric medication use, a 52% increase in anxiety-related conditions, and a 45% increase in post-traumatic stress diagnoses.
The director of the “Giha” Mental Health Center, which opened a new center a month ago to treat trauma and crises under the name “Olympia Center,” outlined the psychological situation of the Israeli public.
He said, “The public has witnessed significant and long-term disturbances due to dangerous events, and we are witnessing a large number of victims, classified into different categories of exposure and harm, which confirms the urgent need for a rapid therapeutic response, as some may develop chronic, long-term post-traumatic stress syndrome.”
The mental health system is in a state of constant failure
In an article written by Dr. Itai Gal, in the Maariv newspaper, the chief psychiatrist at the Meuhedet health fund, which provides telephone mental health assistance, Professor Arad Kodesh, warned that “the mental health system in Israel is in a state of failure.” Continuous (before the war).
When an “additional national event” is placed on its shoulders, it becomes a device that does not provide an adequate response to the population of “Israel.” Kodesh warned that psychological distress causes the patient to disconnect from the environment, isolation, depression, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, and sometimes suicide.
In turn, the head of the Israeli Psychiatric Association, Professor Yuval Melamed, warned that unlike physical injuries, psychological injury is usually invisible.
Without providing treatment, the condition of psychiatric patients deteriorates to the point that it may threaten their lives.
Likewise, Melamed saw that the mental health situation in Israel before the war was at the bottom of the list of priorities, with a severe shortage of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health therapists.
He added that the long queues that we saw before the war will get even longer, so that we are expected to see many new patients in the coming months.
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