What is the impact of war in our mental health?

On the 24th of February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and since that day we’ve seen a sharp escalation in the violence of this conflict which had a huge impact globally and has caused a large shockwave in our daily lives. This has not only resulted in an emerging economic crisis but also a humanitarian crisis due to the violation of countless Human Rights.

As we know the war brings huge changes to mental and physical health. However, contrary to what would be expected by many, this conflict has impacted not only on those who experience it directly or indirectly, due proactive interest on this matter. Even though there are other armed conflicts occurring around the globe, such as the ones in Syria and Ethiopia, we tend to gloss over those in favor of the one that is occurring in our European backyard, in this case, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia (considered a world power). In Portugal, in particular, there is a large population of Ukrainian immigrants therefore we may feel closer to this war. Even though we want to be informed about what is happening all over the world, the truth is that this insatiable and persistent news update has harsh implications on our mental and consequently on our physical health as well. Known as “social media war”, the events that have been occurring in Ukraine are being transmitted not only by the newspapers but also in apps such as Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. Many of these apps have been exploring the exposure created by this conflict to increase their interaction with the public and market penetration. Indeed, many videos marked with the hashtag “#UkraineWar” are being seen over 600 million times in just a few days.1

A major negative aspect that the mediatic exposu- re to these situations brings us is uncertainty and the feeling of being threatened. Sometimes these feelings can strike us suddenly when we are accessing these videos in an attempt to find news and stay connected,. As a response to perceived danger our body, secretes adrenaline, our pupils dilate , and our heart rate and our blood sugar levels increase. These physical responses can cause changes in sleep quality, resulting in insomnia, and can also lead to irritability and mood swings; and changes in appetite which have repercussions on brain functions since everything we eat is turned into chemicals whose effect impacts how our brain is going to work.

But don’t be scared, there are many ways to prevent these negative consequences.

According to Professor Amrita Rathi from the University of Columbia in New York, empirical studies show that psychological resilience is the standard response to traumatic adult life events and is typically mediated by demographic and social factors that occur during and after the event. Therefore, certain protective factors, such as positive relationships and a strong biological disposition, can help children, as well as adults, survive and thrive when faced with adversity. Thus, if we can experience a situation of support and security this almost acts like an antidote to some of the triggers generated by our exposure to this war.

Moving to those who experience the war directly, what we know is that there are bigger and more nefarious consequences on their lives, since everything these people took for granted changed in just a matter of days. Replacing the above mentioned security and support coping mechanisms, war tends to exponentially increase, hunger, death and human trafficking during its immediate presence and in its aftermath.

Currently, simple things such going for a walk or just taking their kids to school, is no longer possible in many areas of Ukraine. The disruption on the most mundane aspects of daily life tends to have a huge impact on the quality of life by those affected by that.

In terms of mental health pathology, post-traumatic stress disorder is being pointed out as a possible consequence for the population living in proximity to conflict zones. However, of course for or a legitimate diagnosis, the performance of a credited professional is essential. But in a war scenario like this one where the rescuers are being exposed to the outcome of war activities on a daily basis, where children see the destruction brought on their ancestors’ heritage and the destruction of their families units, where relatives don’t even have the chance to bury their beloved ones, where refugees try to escape but are deceived and end up on human trafficking networks; it isn’t farfetched to assume that this population is vulnerable and at imminent risk of developing not only post-traumatic stress disor- der but also a whole host of other pathologies that will have a huge impact on their future, especially on the younger generation.

To summarize, what we can all learn about this war is that disturbing events affect people in various ways and that the geographic distance from the conflict does not seem to limit the consequences it has on our mental health, especially now, because we are just a click away from being confronted with someone’s reality. Even though there is mental health support on the frontlines of this war, the transport channels of people are scarce and the processing of people at the borders is inefficient and this needs to change in order help these individuals overcome the problems they’ve been facing during these last months. Our minds are abstract but our brain has a physical structure like any other organ and so we need to take care of it like we do to with the rest of our body.