Mideast wars inflict psychic wounds on Arab-Aust women
Research published in The Lancet journal has examined the mental health impacts of ongoing wars in the Middle East and how they affect women connected to the region living in Australia.
University of NSW researchers found panic disorder symptoms, poorer quality of life and other psychosocial stress indicators only increased for the women affected by the current carnage, compared to other Australian-born and migrant women.
Symptoms appeared suddenly in multiple ways including rapid heart rate, dizziness, trembling, sweating and nausea.
"It's like a panic attack, but it's very much tied to a particular event," lead author Susan Rees told AAP.
"In this case, the prevailing mass deaths, injuries and starvation."
The events were prompting direct, visceral reminders for the women of their own experiences.
"Such as having their house bombed, fleeing for safety, having family members injured or killed, which was the most extreme," Professor Rees said.
About 17,000 children are among almost 60,000 people killed in Israel's retaliatory military assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the United Nations said.
It followed militant group Hamas attacking Israel, killing about 1200 people and capturing some 250 hostages.
The longitudinal study assessed 410 women living in Australia about 12-18 months before and during the ongoing war on Gaza, extending from October 2023 until December 2024.
The women were directly connected by birth or family to Gaza, the occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon, as well as migrant women from other non-Middle East countries and Australian-born women with no connection to the region.
One participant from the Middle East-connected group, which made up one-fifth of the total study, told researchers she felt like a robot: functioning but not fully engaging with her surroundings.
"This experience indicates that the person may be emotionally alienated and disconnected from daily life and routines," Prof Rees explained.
"You're just thinking all the time about your family and what's going on, and you're trying not to communicate it to children because you don't want them to get upset."
Another woman said she spent many sleepless nights telling her family in southern Lebanon to evacuate, after hearing radio reports saying Israeli forces were attacking their particular area.
"They can't protect them directly on the ground and are trying to do it from thousands of kilometres away," Prof Rees said.
The dire mental health consequences for such a large population in Australia could be prolonged unless there were targeted clinical interventions as well as political ones, she said.
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