World Mental Health Day 2025- Mental health in Humanitarian Emergencies

Every year, we celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10th October, where we focus on a common theme to work towards and improve upon the interventions provided to those who need them the most. This year's theme was (and will be): Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies.

Note: This blog post is not a replacement for therapy or other interventions. The information I share here is based on research papers, articles, chapters and my experience as a therapist. But what I write here might not answer your specific questions or cover your specific concerns- this is general information. Please reach out to someone for assistance if you believe you need it. We deserve all the help and resources that we need!

It feels like every other day now, when we check social media or the news and see reports on natural calamities or wars, panellists discussing about who is responsible, pictures of catastrophes being dissected, cameras panning into the hopeless, crying faces of people, the broken houses, buildings being washed by the raging water or pouring rain. Many of us vicariously go through the anxiety or hopelessness they must feel so much more intensely, but we can switch off the TV or put our phones down and distract ourselves with the realities of their life. If only it were possible for the people going through these crises, but unfortunately, that is not true- many people can become vulnerable to disorders like severe anxiety, PTSD, depression or other physical health issues. Proper support can be life-saving, not only for the victims but also for the first responders or other professionals who are also affected by these calamities. 

Humanitarian Emergencies like Natural Disasters, Wars, Conflicts, pandemics, and epidemics have been a part of our world for as long as people have existed, but now we have more information about their repercussions on our lives in general, our financial well-being, social well-being, our physical health and our mental health. Disruptions are stressors, and when they affect the masses, they can have a lot of effects not only on an individual level but on a collective level too.

What are the Physical Consequences of Humanitarian Emergencies?

• Injuries: Injuries can be a direct consequence of mass-scale emergencies and can alter people's lives, and many of these effects follow people for a long time. When injuries happen on a large scale, many people might not get the proper first-aid and long-term care, either of which can mean that their lives are altered completely post-injuries (even when there is a semblance of normalcy). Destruction of properties and infrastructure can also add to how people can access help, even for non-injurious healthcare (like diseases).

• Nutrition: Most people don't have access to proper nutrition, and that, in turn, can affect recovery. Proper nutrition is not just associated with ensuring proper physical health, but it can also contribute to our mental health. But unfortunately, that is one of the first things struck by mass disasters.

• Inability to access medical care or healthcare: Because of the scale of harm that can come from disasters, people might not have access to medical care either. There have been instances of healthcare professionals not being able to reach every victim, which in turn can add to their distress, in addition to mentally affecting the professionals, too.

• Affected immune system: Humanitarian emergencies can be considered as stressors, and long-term stressors can affect our immune systems and different aspects of our health. Some studies have shown that both natural and man-made disasters can age our immune systems and contribute to chronic inflammation, respiratory health and cardiac health.

What are Psychological and Social Consequences?

• Trauma: Many people can experience physical and psychological trauma, which could lead to potential diagnoses like PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder (can be a diagnosis with similar symptoms to PTSD that people experience for the first month immediately after a traumatic event; it can c

• Social Dislocation and disruption of the support system: Social dislocation can mean the disruption of social structure and harmony as a result of people being displaced from their country or community, either due to geographical movement (as can happen with refugees) or even without it, because of loss of property, living in temporary housing or loss of family/friends. Many people are separated from their community or support systems during such crises and may have to rebuild their lives from the ground up, which can be daunting, especially when it leads to feelings of isolation and uprootedness. 
  

• Disruption of structure and safety: It goes without saying that any humanitarian emergencies can disrupt the structure of a community or even the country, or make people feel unsafe. Not knowing when the next attack happens (during wars) or when the next natural disasters strike can make people feel anxious, grieve their past and feel a sense of hopelessness.

• Lack of future-oriented thinking (A Foreshortened Future): Both natural and man-made disasters can impact people's abilities to have aspirations for the future, and that, in turn, can affect their desire or abilities to plan for their future. A sense of foreshortened future is one of the signs of PTSD mentioned in the DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5. This might be exacerbated in remote areas or in places of prolonged conflicts, where people might have to make adjustments with regard to how many resources are available to them or the potential loss of life that could occur in the future.

• Depression, Anxiety and Identity: The hopelessness and helplessness can be hard to escape when people feel overwhelmed with coping through emergencies like pandemics, wars or natural disasters. People have to rely on aid from external sources for their basic needs; they might have to evacuate not only their homes but, at times, seek refuge in other countries/continents. This can contribute to feeling depressed, losing hope in the future, constant anxiety about their future, and even struggling to find their individual and collective identities due to their displacement from their homes.

What to do?

Humanitarian Emergencies and the way to deal with them can be highly complicated and complex, because of how unpredictable things can get and how differently people can cope with the aftermath. But we can categorise the interventions into two categories

• General Support that is Short-Term: 

General support can mean immediate medical care, providing appropriate first aid, access to basic needs like food, water and shelter or psychological first aid. Psychological First Aid (PFA) aims to provide the first phase of help with making sure that survivors are given a comforting presence who listens actively, provides basic information about what stress is and common stress reactions. PFA also aims to empower people to identify their strengths, encourage them to use their existing coping skills, and connect them to support groups and other resources. But it isn't a replacement for therapy.

• Specific Support that is Long-Term

Unfortunately, the effects of large-scale crises hardly ever end after the immediate dangers have been alleviated. Most people, if not everyone, can benefit from specific support that aims to ensure a person receives the help that can improve their quality of life. Providing provisions for long-term healthcare (both physical and mental health), nutrition and focusing on teaching ways to plan for a new future (which might be neglected by people who are exposed to constant stress for a long time) and building future-focused aspirations and investments can be very helpful. Individualised mental health care that addresses people's trauma at an individual and a collective level, building community-level support through accessible health care and support groups, can also benefit a lot.

This year's theme for World Mental Health Day has to be seen as a necessary reminder about how large-scale catastrophes put insurmountable burdens on people's lives, health, and future. A collective awareness and movement have to be encouraged to not only help the people who survive the crises, but also provide additional support to all the professionals who help people navigate these disasters.