War stress

Andrés Fontalba
 

By EFE

Stress is an adaptive reaction. When a change occurs, an effort is made to face the new challenge and, thus the organism itself adapts and can experience emotions, even pleasant ones, in the face of this process. In this case, stress is stimulating and motivating. Unfortunately, in situations as distressing as those caused by the current war, stress becomes so intense that it is seriously detrimental to health and one of its most severe consequences is post-traumatic stress disorder, a disease that arises as a delayed reaction to extremely threatening or catastrophic situations. This disorder is characterized by repeated episodes in which the traumatic event is relived in the form of dreams, flashbacks, or intrusive memories, often accompanied by emotional numbing and dissociation. It may involve detachment from others and avoidance of activities that are reminiscent of the event. Anxiety and depression may also be present, and substance abuse and suicidal thoughts are common.

The most recent wars have mainly affected low and middle-income countries with limited health resources. In these settings, up to a third of the surviving population has been affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. Regulated psychological interventions have been developed aimed at survivors of massive conflicts that have demonstrated their effectiveness in both young and adult populations. However, most low-income countries, and even more so after a conflict, lack, on the one hand, financial resources and, on the other, trained professionals to implement these therapies.

The digital tools that we have today applied to health can be useful and have a very high degree of acceptance by the population. They serve both for the treatment and prevention of mental health and substance abuse disorders that appear during and after wars. Numerous studies show the effectiveness of telephone, text message or online support interventions, as well as digital applications for mobile devices, which offer good results in both clinical and community settings. These technologies also amplify the scope of people we can reach and are a great support for care interventions and the training of available professionals.

The collective feeling of anxiety and, specifically, the high degree of suffering endured by people affected by war highlight the need to allocate more resources to improve the mental health of the population, even more so for people who are vulnerable due to adverse circumstances. This approach must be global and also requires a strengthening of primary care and the promotion of psychosocial interventions carried out by non-professionals who are trained to apply them, highlighting the role of families and informal caregivers. Attention should be focused on both the person and the community.

Without forgetting that to avoid deaths, suffering and the painful stress of war, it is necessary to build and maintain peace.