Israel’s mental health hotline published data on calls received during the six months of the war on the Gaza Strip, with the numbers noted as “alarming,” the Times of Israel reported.
Announcement
Since October 7, the mental health hotline has received 172,000 requests for psychological support, either by phone or online. The average number of this number reached 33 thousand calls per month, with a higher than average number of 44 thousand in the first month of the war. The average daily calls since the beginning of the war have reached 920 calls.
On October 7 alone, the Mental Health Authority handled more than 3,500 incoming calls. This compares to 500 calls during a routine Saturday.
There was a 10 percent increase over the usual number of calls from men, who rarely call the hotline and often call infrequently.
Many of the calls came from soldiers (men and women) in regular and reserve service, which is reflected in the fact that 41 percent of the calls received by the hotline were from people between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
Children and teenagers under the age of 17 called at a rate of 125 percent over the same time last year, and this increase was particularly evident during the first weeks of the war.
The Mental Health Hotline has confirmed a 950 per cent increase in calls related to anxiety, trauma and loss compared to the same six months in 2022-2023. As the war continued, there was also an increase in calls about depression, loneliness and general emotional disturbance.
Of the 38,240 youth up to age 24 who called the hotline, 60 percent were women and 40 percent were men. A third of these calls were related to anxiety and trauma. One out of every five calls dealt with deep psychological suffering.
Additional sources •
2024-04-05 20:14:07
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