The Long-lasting Effects of War Trauma on Children and Adults: Understanding and Addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

2023-10-23 03:53:00
These disorders affect children as well as adults, and have long-term effects, even following the war ends and the person’s life returns to its stable state.

According to research in which several researchers from international universities participated, including Harvard University, and with funding from the World Health Organization, it was found that a third of people directly exposed to traumatic war experiences are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorders, most notably depression, which is equivalent to one person from Every 16 people, according to data published in 2016.

For children, the effects of war trauma are not limited only to psychological and mental health, but rather include a wide and multifaceted range of developmental outcomes that affect family and social relationships, as well as academic performance and general life satisfaction.

A child’s behavior may change significantly following wars, becoming dominated by excessive violence, outbursts of anger, depression, and various other psychological illnesses.

According to what was published by the British newspaper “The Guardian”, a World Health Organization study, published in the Lancet medical journal, says that 22% of people living in areas of armed conflict suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.

Women are more likely to be affected than men, while the degree of vulnerability is greater for older men, which indicates that work also plays a major role.

About 9% of the population has a moderate to severe mental disorder, while 13% of the population has a mild disorder.

The study, which calls for directing more psychological care resources to war zones, says that the clinical cases of mild psychological disorders in emergency situations can be controversial, but the clinical needs of people with severe psychological disorders are often neglected, which makes It is necessary to give importance to psychological care in these areas, because of the significant effects it has on people in the long term.

According to the research study that was conducted, it was found that there are several psychological diseases that appear in people living in areas of armed conflict and war.

The most prominent of these diseases that appear among war survivors are depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, in addition to severe mental disorders, including bombing shock.

Symptoms of these diseases often appear on the affected person following a week to regarding 3 months of experiencing the events of war, which force him to constantly hear the sounds of bombs and shells, and see corpses and body parts scattered everywhere on a daily basis.

Among the initial symptoms that begin to appear are organic, including muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, irregular heartbeat, and loss of appetite.

As for the psychological symptoms, they are represented by constant panic, fear, constant anxiety, feelings of guilt, and the continuation of suicidal thoughts that come to mind.

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