The three letter word WAR is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. The thought of the atrocities of war, the carnage, uncertainty and the chronic apprehension keeps us tossing and turning at night. When the likelihood of war is preceded by a crime against humanity, the question of “what next?” seems significant.
The threat of a full fledged war between India and Pakistan is extremely high at this point with all the political events unfolding between the leaders of each country. It has been quite sometime that the threat has been looming over us but now the gravity of the threat has increased.
While the repercussions of war are easily identifiable and highlighted, we often fail to acknowledge the emotional and metal turmoil that precedes the war itself.
When it comes to the pre-war period, there is often a tendency to generalize feelings of individuals and label it as a state of “panic” in the country. It is equivalent to suggesting that a singular stressful event can lead to the majority of individuals sharing a universal state of mind. Research has advocated that there cannot be a specific universal response to any highly stressful event i.e., not everyone can possess the same cognitive process and perceptions, since that would be disregarding the subjectivity of humans.
When it comes to the physical manifestation of the mental distress faced by individuals, somatic symptoms such as headaches, non-specific pains or discomfort in torso and limbs, dizziness, weakness, and fatigue play a substantial role in the way the individuals subjectively describe the pain and suffering caused by the deplorable nature of war.
Past researches have concentrated more on war and its annihilating effect but they have given little to no consideration to the prospect of war. The phase when people tend to live life under the umbrella of profound ambiguity surrounding the war, where there is no conclusive evidence of imminent danger to life. Individuals tend to contemplate if they need to or should take proactive measures to secure themselves or proceed with their daily activities unencumbered by concern.
Pre War
The pre-war atmosphere of war can be delineated as the period prior to the formal declaration of war by the countries. Hence, it can be asserted that the significant portion of the population across the nation is more susceptible to face vicarious trauma. This occurs not through direct exposure, but rather through the pervasive information circulated via broadcast news and social media platforms, which contributes to a state of heightened anxiety, resulting in loss of sleep, keeping the individuals always on their toes, apprehensive of when an air siren might blaze in their own town.
How to define this feeling? We know we cannot call it PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder , which refers to severe distress faced after an extremely traumatic event has transpired like
- Death of loved ones
- Natural calamity
- Terrorist attacks
- Wars
What about the time before that? What about the time when the risk of armed conflict is looming over the individuals of each country and there is a high level of unpredictability of what will happen next? The possibility of war not only means threat to life but also the threat of destruction to the social world embodying an individual’s history, identity, and living values. Thus, it elicits a feeling of terror and the symptoms might mimic those of post traumatic stress disorder like nightmares, being hypervigilant, intense anxiety, difficulty falling asleep and difficulty concentrating.
Feeling Of Loss of Control and Intolerance of Uncertainty
The threat of war leads us to feel a term called “Reductions Mastery” which precipitates mental distress as people develop a feeling of loss of control. This erosion of control fosters feelings of helplessness and dependency, as individuals perceive their personal achievements and future prospects as subject to arbitrary forces beyond their influence. Summarizing this it can be said that the imminent conflict takes away our feeling of being the masters of our own life leading to mental agony. Ultimately, we find ourselves feeling helpless, unable to fulfill our basic desire for a life in a secure environment devoid of threats.
Intolerance of uncertainty, is another area to be focused upon. It refers to a set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses that the individual implements to cope with ambiguous and uncertain daily situations, the tendency to be bothered or upset by the (as yet) unknown elements of a situation, whether the possible outcome is negative or not. This can also be intensified by the lack of pertinent or proportionate information can exacerbate our ability to comprehend an uncertain situation, and this challenging experience may prompt maladaptive information-seeking behaviors or avoidance strategies that attempt to alleviate the discomfort through a deceptive sense of control.
Pre War and Anxieties
A term that comes to mind when thinking about pre war and its effects on our mental health is Future Anxiety, also known as anticipatory anxiety. This refers to a feeling of extreme fear and worry about a scheduled event or a potential threat. Here the potential threat is war, an event that can endanger individuals and uproot their lives.
The greater the fear of war the higher is the inhibitory and prospective anxiety. When we talk about inhibitory anxiety, we refer to having difficulty suppressing unwanted thoughts or preventing them from influencing us while prospective anxiety refers to the desire of being able to predict what will happen next and hence seek information actively with the aim of reducing the fear of uncertainty. Higher levels of such types of anxiety result in
- Aggression
- Higher suicidal ideation
- Higher depression
- Lower Wellbeing
Though there is no evidence of direct association with aggression and suicidal ideation. Research has revealed that the inhibitory anxiety and prospective anxiety acted as full mediators between fear of war and aggression and as partial mediators between fear of war and depression, anxiety and wellbeing. However it was noted that the association between fear of war and suicidal ideation was fully mediated by only prospective anxiety.
Another concept that is relevant at this time is War Anxiety, frequently termed nuclear anxiety. This can be described as a typical response to reports and visuals regarding the conflict. This phenomenon alone can heighten feelings of exhaustion, concern, and a diminished sense of control. A study conducted in Finland found that teenagers who expressed worries about nuclear warfare were at a higher risk for typical mental health disorders five years later.
Mental Health Impact of Media coverage
Broadcast media or social media, is a major contributing factor in how the gathering of war clouds impact our mental health. The consistent news coverage and updates on social media about the impending war can trigger
- Depression
- Substance use disorder
- Psychosis.
The media may or may not report real information or complete information. Since it is the only source of information, people believe what they see, but a lot of news is busted over a period of time by the men on the field or other government officials. Nevertheless, even a short duration of inaccurate reporting or deceptive information can lead to mental health issues. Individuals who are susceptible to anxiety, such as those with neurotic personality traits, previous experiences, or hereditary factors, are more likely to seek extensive media coverage during crises, which can create a harmful cycle of distress.
Though we aimed at focusing on the pre-war tensions and their impact, it is imperative to also briefly consider the mental health impact of the actual war because it tends to comprise the pre war and the actual war impact on people.
Mental Health Impact of War
Research from past conflicts indicates that the consequences of a war can significantly affect an individual’s mental health. If we were to compare the impacts, it appears that women are more affected than men. Those particularly vulnerable to trauma or similar mental health issues include children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. In the case of children, even toddlers as young as four years old experience significant effects. They often become fearful, anxious, and depressed. The mere concept of war can cause them to suffer from nightmares. Such experiences frequently lead individuals to perceive their lives as lacking value, according to research. In addition to trauma, prevalent mental health issues stemming from past wars include Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia. Furthermore, there is a possibility that trauma-induced mental health issues may be transmitted across generations.
MEMES on War as a coping mechanism
Though this is a trying time for the country and its citizens, everyone was pleasantly surprised by how social media responded to the threat of conflict. There were memes that took over the internet, ranging from joking about which country will win to how people want war to alleviate their daily struggles. It’s not that no one knows the severity of war, but this reaction itself has left some who don’t use such memes perplexed, and some have even expressed displeasure.
It is not the first instance in which memes have been created in response to the country’s imminent conflict. This isn’t the first time memes have been created while the country is on the verge of war. A noteworthy instance wherein war-related memes peaked was in 2020, when Trump declared the assassination of an Iranian major general and the idea of WWIII circulated widely. That is when there was a boom in WWIII memes, which focused on how people interpreted the battle rather than what it may bring
Many people wonder, “Why?” Why make such memes? Some argue that Millennials and GenZ do not realize the gravity of the situation and are engaging in juvenile behavior or seeking prominence on social media. There are several answers to this question, and they do not necessarily correspond to the ones often assumed. Every individual has the ability to take things into their own hands, and the current generations have witnessed a variety of events. When we focus on the Indians, some major events are: demonetization, global pandemic, online examinations, the Ram Mandir and the events surrounding it. The Mahakumbha, An increase in driving rage and crime rates, the Farmer Protest, and even fears about global warming. All of this creates a sense of bleakness and desensitization. With the prospect of conflict between two nuclear-armed countries, the mental process has shifted from “I want to live” to “why live when everything is so uncertain?” This has resulted in an upsurge and acceptance of dark/morbid humor. This has been observed to elicit empathy and understanding in a huge number of people, leading me to believe that I am not alone in thinking this way.
We might say that the idea of using comedy in uncertain and tough situations originated in theatre. The theatre has frequently utilized entertainment to spark crucial debates about delicate issues or themes that people are easily protective about. As a result, morbid humor tends to acknowledge stress-inducing occurrences in our life while also offering answers.
This morbid humor method is a shared experience, as previously indicated, and it may also be consoling by functioning as a tool to escape the distress caused by the stressful incident. The memes have helped individuals accept that there is a 100% mortality rate and there is no sugar coating it, hence making memes about death is not wrong.
The memes surrounding the concept of war are not serious, but rather have a joyous tone combined with an uncertainty about future events in personal life, such as hoping that examinations are cancelled or that there is a holiday at work, etc. There was a belief that the war should occur soon in order to avoid personal commitments and a chance to escape responsibilities; this belief glorified the war, but on the other hand, people criticized the war not for its destructive nature, but linked it with individuality, saying things like the time they decide to get married, something comes up, first Covid 19 and now war. Hence a sign of self loathing could be seen, indirectly stating that their luck is poor.
The memes are said to reflect the anxiety individuals might be feeling with regard to the feelings they are having , these include the feeling of uncertainty and also the severity of the situation. Hence though the memes seem to be humorous or might seem to dismiss the severity of war, they can reflect public sentiment. The initial memes were more focused on humor, there is a high chance at that time that people did not think that the war would really happen, now if you note the humor element is still there but is targeted on expressing opinions.
Memes and humor can however be summarized to be coping mechanisms since they act as a mode to express and alleviate fear.
Coping with the Effects of Pre-War
When it comes to healthier coping mechanisms, as per all the points discussed earlier, are avoiding the content or limiting the content about the conflict, keeping connected with people, specifically the loved ones, seeking help if the distress is so severe that focusing on anything seems impossible, aim to focus more on the present rather than the future, and on your actions rather than attempting to influence others.
