Addictions on the rise in wartime Israel

At 19 Israeli man Yoni has to put aside his plans to join the military and instead enter rehab for drug abuse that has worsened since Hamass October 7 attackHealth professionals said Yonis case is not an exception in wartime Israel noting a surge in drug and alcohol abuse as well as other addictive behavioursYoni who asked to use a pseudonym to protect his privacy told media he had started taking drugs recreationally before but after the war it seemed to really get worseIts just a way to escape from reality this whole thing said the resident of Beersheba in southern Israel who lost a friend Nir Beizer in the Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing Gaza warPsychiatrist Shaul LevRan founder of the Israel Center on Addiction said that as a natural reaction to emotional stress and as a search for relief weve seen a spectacular rise in the consumption of various addictive sedative substancesA study carried out by his team based in the central city of Netanya found a connection between indirect exposure to the October 7 events and an increase in addictive substances consumption of about 25 percentLevRan told media they have identified a rise in the use of prescription drugs illegal drugs alcohol or addictive behaviour like gamblingOne in four Israelis have increased their addictive substance use according to the study which was conducted in November and December on a representative sample of 1000 Israelis In 2022 before the war one in seven struggled with drug addictionContacted by media person the Palestinian Authority said there was no equivalent data on addiction and mental health for the Palestinian territories Shock The October 7 attack when Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel and attacked towns communities army bases and an outdoor rave caused a real shock in Israeli society LevRan saidThe study found that the closer individuals were to the trauma on October 7 the higher the risk of addictive behavioursThe Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1198 people mostly civilians according to an media tally based on official Israeli figuresMilitants also seized 251 people 111 of whom are still captive in Gaza including 39 the Israeli military says are deadIsraels retaliatory military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 39790 people according to health ministry of the Hamasrun territory which does not give details of civilian and militant deathsThe Israel Center on Addiction study found an increase in addictive substance consumption among survivors of the October 7 attack but also among Israelis displaced since then from communities near the Gaza border or in the north near LebanonSome who had never consumed addictive substances started using cannabis some used substances but increased their use and some were already treated for addiction and relapsed said LevRan Forget LevRab said Israel was already at the outset of an epidemic in which large swathes of the population will develop an addiction to substancesThe study found that the use of sleeping pills and painkillers has also skyrocketed by 180 percent and 70 percent respectivelyThe psychiatrist gave the example of one of his patients a man who demanded something to help him cope and be able to sleep while his son was fighting in GazaAt a bar in Jerusalem Matan a soldier deployed to the Palestinian territory who gave only his first name for privacy concerns told media that using drugs helps forget the harsh realityYoni said that in the early months of Israels war in Palestine his friends and him would take party drugs like ecstasy MDMA LSD recreationally in order not to be bored and not to be afraidThen Yoni started taking drugs alone at home which he said eventually led him to realise that I need to go to rehabOnce out he wants to complete his military service Yoni said to prove to myself prove to the family that I am indeed capable of more and can contribute to the community like everyone elseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever