Beirut at tipping point in mental health crisis
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Beirut — More than two weeks after a huge explosion tore through Beirut killing 181 people and leaving entire neighbourhoods in ruins, Sandra Abinader still jumps at the slightest sound. “The other day, I was trying to open a jar and the popping sound made me jump back and scream. I felt for a second I needed to run away.”
Despite recognising the magnitude of her ordeal, Sandra, 18, said she is not interested in seeking professional help. “We’re used to dealing with our problems on our own,” she said, stoically.
Her attitude is common in Lebanon, a country hardened by past wars and sectarian conflict and where stigma still rules attitudes towards mental health. But the blast caught Lebanon at an extremely vulnerable point after months of severe economic crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
Now practitioners are warning of a national mental health emergency as people begin to show signs of trauma from the explosion, including nightmares, flashbacks, crying, anxiety, anger and exhaustion. Psychologists say this is being worsened by the constant stream of images on Lebanese TV and social media showing the blast and its aftermath.
“Every time we say it can’t get worse in Lebanon, it somehow does,” said Jad Daou, a volunteer with Lebanese mental health NGO Embrace, who mans the telephones at its crisis clinic. “A lot of people are feeling hopeless about the entire situation here in Lebanon.”
The explosion was a tipping point. Embrace, which usually receives between 150 and 200 calls a month, says more people have been reaching out since the blast. The group has stationed volunteers in one of the affected neighbourhoods and has started home visits.
Many mental health professionals have mobilised in the wake of the blast to offer their services and post tips on social media, but some are struggling to cope themselves.
“I never had psychologists say, ‘we are not ready to talk at this moment. I need time to heal for myself’,” said psychologist Warde Bou Daher. “But the trauma affected everyone ... they need to heal their own wounds before being able to help others.”
While Sandra insists she has not cried once since it happened, her cousin cannot hold back tears as she recounts her experience of the explosion, which wounded 6,000 people and was so loud it could be heard as far as Cyprus, 160km away.
When the blast hit, Lourdes ...
Despite recognising the magnitude of her ordeal, Sandra, 18, said she is not interested in seeking professional help. “We’re used to dealing with our problems on our own,” she said, stoically.
Her attitude is common in Lebanon, a country hardened by past wars and sectarian conflict and where stigma still rules attitudes towards mental health. But the blast caught Lebanon at an extremely vulnerable point after months of severe economic crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
Now practitioners are warning of a national mental health emergency as people begin to show signs of trauma from the explosion, including nightmares, flashbacks, crying, anxiety, anger and exhaustion. Psychologists say this is being worsened by the constant stream of images on Lebanese TV and social media showing the blast and its aftermath.
“Every time we say it can’t get worse in Lebanon, it somehow does,” said Jad Daou, a volunteer with Lebanese mental health NGO Embrace, who mans the telephones at its crisis clinic. “A lot of people are feeling hopeless about the entire situation here in Lebanon.”
The explosion was a tipping point. Embrace, which usually receives between 150 and 200 calls a month, says more people have been reaching out since the blast. The group has stationed volunteers in one of the affected neighbourhoods and has started home visits.
Many mental health professionals have mobilised in the wake of the blast to offer their services and post tips on social media, but some are struggling to cope themselves.
“I never had psychologists say, ‘we are not ready to talk at this moment. I need time to heal for myself’,” said psychologist Warde Bou Daher. “But the trauma affected everyone ... they need to heal their own wounds before being able to help others.”
While Sandra insists she has not cried once since it happened, her cousin cannot hold back tears as she recounts her experience of the explosion, which wounded 6,000 people and was so loud it could be heard as far as Cyprus, 160km away.
When the blast hit, Lourdes ...
