Impact of war on mental health

Author : Dr.Tulika | 27 Dec 2023

War has a catastrophic impact on the health and well-being of society. According to studies, conflict causes more casualties and suffering than any notable disease. It forces people to suffer from long-term physiological and behavioural damage. A conflict's casualty count is merely one aspect of the narrative; a war kills in more ways than one. Poverty, starvation, impairment, economic depression, and mental issues are only a few examples.

Loss of life and grief

War is synonymous with loss to both military and civilians, bringing in a slew of struggles for individuals during and long after the war has ended. Soldiers fighting in the conflict invariably suffer the worst injuries, physical or psychological.

They usually go through the agony of blaming themselves for a comrade's loss, struggle with the willingness to battle during combat, a constant test of perseverance in warfare, and the desire to live in general. Death is regarded as a particularly traumatic experience to overcome, and bereavement-related grief can have detrimental effects on mental health and cause long-term alterations in the mind and gene expression.

Depression, anxiety, rage, and isolation are some of the psychological problems observed. Preoccupation with the departed soul's memories, helplessness, and low self-esteem are behavioural symptoms.

Anxiety around family safety  

Anyone touched by an emergency such as war will experience psychological discomfort or anxiety, primarily focused on the family's well-being. Anxiety is defined as a disorder marked by excessive anxiety, worry, and apprehensive expectation about a variety of potentially stressful events like war.

In these times, the victim is gripped with fear, a human reaction generated by a perceived threat, during times of crisis. Constant fear and subsequent worry, especially during times of war, can cause damage to critical regions of the brain. One of them is the hippocampus, a primary coping region that signals the body to respond to acute stress. This reaction makes it more challenging to control dread, and anxiety levels might skyrocket.

In the last ten years, one in every eleven (9%) people who have lived through a war or other form of conflict will suffer from a moderate or severe mental illness. Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia impact one out of every five people (22 percent) who live in a conflict-affected area.

Financial Stress   

Every country actively involved in war bears the burden of the conflict, together with the financial strain that comes with it. Both during and after the battle, a war's cost is enormous. It takes decades for a country to rebuild its infrastructure, including the economic tightrope it must traverse to do so. This financial stress influences brain functions, health, and handling emotions.

As a result, self-destructive behaviours such as aversion, hostility, panic, and a sense of solitude develop. Acute financial stress also induces a never-ending urge to keep attentive, and if you're always on the prospect of losing your home or drowning in overwhelming debt, you may never let your guard down.

With better potential returns and greater knowledge and access, stock market investment has seen the entry of a host of investors in the last few decades. Still, with stock markets being sentiment and perception-driven, a war or even a perceived war can send the Sensex plunging in a day. The dwindling profits and growing losses bring stress and anxiety that have taken many lives.

Suicidal thoughts are also a common adverse effect of extreme financial stress. Suicide rates rise in response to stressful life events, the economic crisis being one of them. In fact, according to a study, financial stressors are one of the primary bases for suicide or suicide attempts.

Post-war mental health issues

As a catastrophic tragedy, war has always resulted in a gut-wrenching wave of severe, long-lasting, mental, and physical symptoms, particularly war-related post-traumatic stress disorders, grief, and anxiety, all of which manifest in diverse ways. Psychological trauma originates when a person is confronted with an unpleasant incident that leaves them feeling irrelevant in the face of overwhelming threat, worry, and fear. While stress affects everyone, severe traumatic consequences of war can be overpowering, psychologically shattering a person and leaving them vulnerable. Once a person is confronted with a life-threatening condition, more often than not, his coping mechanism fails.

Mental health issues in conflict zones in numbers 

As per the WHO, 10% of individuals who undergo tragic experiences develop severe mental health disorders. Another 10% develop behaviour that impedes their capacity to operate effectively in armed conflicts. Distress, panic, and multiple psychological issues such as insomnia or back pain are common illnesses.

For instance, more than two decades of violence in Afghanistan have resulted in severe human misery and demographic exodus.

In one of the studies conducted in these parts comprising almost 800 people aged 15 and older, 62% said they had come across at least four horrific events in the past ten years. 67.7% of participants went through chronic stress and depression, with anxiety symptoms in 72.2% and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in 42%. The numbers only grow with constant exposure to unfortunate events.

Disabled and women were the worst sufferers with a strong connection between mental well-being and catastrophic experiences. Religious and spiritual rituals were commonly used coping mechanisms.

In the decade gone by, a significant number of studies in Palestine have found high levels of mental disorders among children and adolescents, and women. According to a research conducted in Palestine among children aged 10 to 19 years with visible PTSD manifestation. 32.7 percent had severe PTSD symptoms, with 49.2 percent displaying moderate, and 15.6 percent showing mild symptoms, with only around 3 percent free of any PTSD signs.

Witnessing funerals, shootings, and seeing dead or injured strangers, were some of the most common horrific events responsible for mental illness in children in these parts. It was also evident that children in conflict zones were more affected than those in cities.

Research on the presence of a wide range of psychological symptoms and syndromes in people in conflict circumstances is well acknowledged. It is evident that mental health care should be provided to people living in war and combat zones as part of the overall relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts. 

The study of the psychological implications of the current century's wars could introduce alternative interpretations and remedies to mental health problems, much as it did in the first half of the twentieth century when war played a vital role in the evolving principles of mental well-being.   

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