Lebanese Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Stroll in a Landmine of Crises

By Sarah Helmy, Visiting Contributor and Fadi Salahedin, Contributor

April 15th, 2021

“Depressed and hopeless, expecting the worse at any moment, and feeling like the future this country has to offer is a very unrewarding one.” These were the words of a law student at University Saint-Joseph (USJ) of Beirut when asked about the overall situation in Lebanon. These past two years have, indeed, been the darkest years the Lebanese people have yet to endure. With a financial crisis that has led to massive devaluation of the national currency, a social and political uprising that has unfortunately yielded no reforms, a massive explosion that hit the heart of Beirut, and the ongoing COVID pandemic, the people of Lebanon are beyond tired and drained. This article will delve into the colossal strain that all these factors have had on the youths’ collective mental health. It will also explore the efforts of civil society, represented by NGOs, that has done more for the Lebanese people than what the entire mafia-like political class have done in the past three decades of their rule.

For the purpose of this article, we interviewed the founders of Be Brave Beirut in order to assess the psychological impact of the different crises on the Lebanese population. Be Brave Beirut (BBB) is a “grassroots initiative that was founded after the Beirut explosion which aims to provide emotional support, Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS) to beneficiaries of all ages and backgrounds. Our services are available to anyone and everyone,” as described by one of the founders. The questions we asked revolved around the connection between adolescents’ mental health and the situation in the country, specifically the political turmoil, the economic collapse, the Beirut Blast, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Political unrest

Lebanon has been going through an unprecedented period of significant political unrest, which has started with the vacuum of power before President Aoun was assigned, dragging on to the conflicting political/sectarian parties that have manipulated and monopolized the country; this has burdened the Lebanese people, filling them with feelings of uncertainty and confusion. This political unrest has substantially escalated after the October 17 revolution and the Beirut blast. 

With responsibility being tossed around between different governments (the previous and the transitionary) and politicians, the Lebanese people fell victim to this tug of war . The corrupt policies and confessionalism in the administrative approaches of managing the country have put the future of individuals at stake, directly affecting the mental health of the youth who long for a good future and a better tomorrow for their country.

In an interview with a few members of the Be Brave Beirut initiative, we inquired about the relationship between the political unrest and the mental health of adolescents and youth, to which they answered: “With the political unrest and not knowing what the future holds for this country, that feeling of uncertainty is really not easy and uncomfortable. I think a lot of students are concerned about their future prospects in terms of their jobs, and a lot of us can agree that job hunting can be a nightmare for everyone that’s graduating this year, next year, or the years after. If we are going to take it on a very broad range of political impact, I think that something that people might be feeling is that, despite the small efforts that we will be making as individuals, there are still huge forces beyond our control that hold the real power in this country which contribute to a lot of uneasiness.”

Furthermore, the  revolution of October 17 commonly referred to as the “Thawra” has been the window of hope that the youth has long been waiting for; however, due to all of the crises that came after, starting with the phenomenal inflation of the Lira, to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the Beirut explosion, it is not an exaggeration to say that the youth’s dreams have been completely shattered. “If we remember the revolution in October 2019, a lot of adolescents and young adults were thinking that this can give us a spark of hope, especially at the beginning . When we watched everyone marching for change and demanding change, we thought ‘maybe something will come out of this.’ But a lot of that hope was extinguished when the explosion happened,” says one of the founders of BBB.

The Economic Situation

The economic collapse is taking a heavy toll on Lebanese youth as the national currency keeps on hitting new lows every week, plummeting to an all-time low and trading above 10,450 LBP to the dollar as of March 2021, further exacerbating feelings of anxiety, insecurity, and worry. This enduring devaluation of the lira implies more and more drops in purchasing power, and what were once basic necessities are becoming luxuries few can afford. For instance, food prices have risen by more than 50% making it difficult for families to sustain their previous eating habits. Furthermore, basic and ‘cheap’ dishes like Mjaddara, a mix of lentils and rice, now cost 50% more to prepare. As the crisis deepens and people find themselves poorer by the day, most are letting go of basic necessities, such as healthcare and education in order to afford putting food on the table. This also implies that adolescents are less able to access and pay for mental health services, and as one of the founders of BBB puts it, “if someone used to pay to go to therapy, they might not afford it anymore, as they now need to think about spending money on other type of necessities, which is why we’re here—we provide anonymous emotional support for free.”

Suffice to say, everyone in Lebanon has been a victim of the dire economic situation; however, this crisis hit adolescents differently. Not only is adolescence a difficult and sensitive period for teenagers to discover themselves and gradually transition into adulthood, but Lebanese adolescents have also had to come to terms with the fact that many of them can longer afford their university tuition, hampering their future aspirations and plans. Indeed, the 160% hike in tuition fees in several universities across Lebanon has forced a huge number of students to halt their studies and change their education plans. Moreover, in the past, countless students have mapped out and plotted their ‘escapes’, a task that has become increasingly difficult as few are now able to afford the now exorbitant tuitions and living expenses abroad due to the massive devaluation of the Lebanese pound against the US dollar.

The devaluation of the Lira, however, is only part of a much bigger problem affecting people’s income. With the pandemic and the strict lockdown measures that have led to the shutdown of numerous businesses, many employees have been laid off or left without salaries, which in turn decreases the overall household income, making education all the more inaccessible to Lebanese students.

The devastating double impact of the economic and the coronavirus crisis on the financial situation of the Lebanese people subsequently forced many students out of universities. What’s more is that banking restrictions have rendered withdrawing sufficient amounts of money nearly impossible, leaving people unable to rely on their hard-earned savings, which had already lost much of their purchasing power. As bills were piling up, household income kept going down, adding to stress and anxiety people were already facing due to the instability and turmoil in the country. Students observed their academic performance plummet as their mental health worsened: “As a university student, I reached a point where I had to talk to a therapist. It was just too much, I felt like I had reached rock bottom,” said Samia*, a third year university student at the Lebanese University, “On top of that, universities have been exhausting us with the amount of workload that they give us. They’re not taking into consideration the extent to which we’re drained physically, mentally and emotionally,” she added.

The stress levels that teenagers living in Lebanon have had to endure is unparalleled and beyond what is typical for teenagers around the globe. As one of the BBB founders puts it, “Teenagers are now becoming well-versed in economic lexicon with everything that’s going on in the country; and when you’re a teenager, let’s say thirteen or fourteen, shouldn’t your only worry should be passing school? It’s not something that ‘normal’ teenagers around the world have to deal with thinking ‘how much are they going to let us withdraw from the bank this month’ or ‘how much is the grocery shopping bill going to increase next week’.  It is really tragic to see teenagers now have such a burden to bear… I feel like it’s taking away from the blissful  joy that they’re supposed to have at this age.”

The Beirut Blast

Although the August 4 explosion of the Port of Beirut is not making headlines anymore, the scars it left in the hearts of people are still very much present today. A phenomenon very recurrent accompanying such destructive events issurvivor’s guilt: a mental condition where people who survive a life-threatening event feel guilty for surviving while others did not. This was very evident in the survivors of the Beirut explosion, who told themselves “Why did I survive while he/she had to die” or “It should’ve been me.” Moreover, people suffering from survivor’s guilt often do not seek help from others because they consider their struggles as less important and significant compared to those of others, and would much rather leave the help for people who have suffered ‘bigger’ losses. However, not seeking help could, in some cases, have detrimental effects as it could further deteriorate already fragile mental states and may put certain people at greater risk of developing future mental disorders.

As for the victims of the explosion, more than 200 people died and around 6500 people  suffered from injuries, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their homes; however, what is often overlooked is the inestimable amount of people suffering from invisible, yet very deep psychological and emotional scars. In fact, the EMBRACE Lifeline, a local suicide and emotional support hotline, has revealed a dramatic increase in the number of callers it has received in the past year starting with 161 calls in August 2019 and reaching 560 calls the same month, a year later. Indeed, this increase is not solely due to the explosion, but rather to the amalgam of hardships residents of Lebanon had to endure this past year. Nevertheless, the explosion was the final straw for a people who had already been through so much.

After the explosion, Lebanese youth were the first to offer help and assistance: they were seen cleaning up houses, removing debris and dirt from the streets, and slowly rebuilding what was left of their city; however, for most, any hope remaining for their country was now buried under the rubbles. “We lost hope. I used to always think that whatever happens I’ll always stay here and help the country progress, but now this hope is no longer there, it’s completely shut down. I don’t want to stay a second longer. I’m disappointed, I’m numb…I feel like I’m just waiting for the next hit,”expressed Samia*. Furthermore, a feeling of overwhelming despair has settled in the hearts of Lebanese students who do not find their country safe anymore. Karim*, a student at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, describes the fear and uncertainty that the explosion has ingrained in him where “even going out for a minute could endanger my life.” A lot of the students I talked to also explained how hard it was to have to come to terms with the fact that leaving is the only option they have left if they want to succeed professionally.

The explosion has extinguished all the hope teenagers had for their country, and left many with emotional scars that may take forever to heal. “It is something all of us are going to carry with us for the rest of our lives, and it definitely does feel like a burden; especially as a student, it does make it harder to be productive and makes it harder to concentrate, it’s something really distracting when you think about it. And I think that the lack of action on a national scale and the lack of justice means that we don’t have closure, and being without closure leaves a feeling of restlessness—the fact that we don’t have any answers or conclusive results means that we can’t turn the page and put this to bed,” says one of the creators of BBB. “For teenagers in Lebanon who experienced the blast, the sounds, the ground shaking, and had to call every single person they know to ask if they’re still alive, I think that is something that will always be with them. It is tragic on a really unspeakable scale,” she adds.

In addition, the explosion has troubled nearly everyone in the country making it harder for people to rely on emotional and psychological support from friends and family, who were themselves equally affected and overwhelmed by the situation. Consequently, people increasingly found themselves seeking help from mental health professionals. Yet, this is not always the most practical option for those who need immediate help as it has become increasingly more difficult to book appointments considering the soaring demand, as well as the large number of mental health professionals who have left the country. Besides, many people cannot afford professional help or feel ashamed to seek help due to the stigma surrounding mental health. Here is where the work of NGOs and grassroots movements, like Be Brave Beirut—that provide free psychosocial and emotional support to those who need it—steps in.

Covid (The Lockdown)

The crippling pandemic also had a significant effect, as it resulted in a seemingly never-ending lockdown, adding to the uncertainty of the country and further devastating an already fragile economy. With a total number of cases of 397,887 on the 8th of March and a death toll now at 5,089, the devastating effect of COVID-19, the fear that comes with it, and the extreme and contradictory measures of the Lebanese government has had a substantial impact on people’s mental health, especially that of the youth. “I lost my motives. I lost hope in everything. It was so hard to convince myself to get up every morning,” says a 20-year-old Business Administration student at the American University of Beirut describing the paralyzing effect the multiple crises in Lebanon has had on her, particularly the pandemic and its repercussions. 

Frontiers reports from a UNHCR article that “the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated old vulnerabilities while steadily increasing the intensity of these realities among vulnerable groups, and triggering a wide range of mental health conditions, which may have long-term psychosocial consequences.” This  points to the staggering increase in mental disease in the Lebanese population, especially for vulnerable and predisposed individuals. 

As the social life of Lebanese students dwindled with restrictive lockdown regulations and the increased seriousness with which people dealt with the virus, numerous  individuals have been deprived  of social support, community involvement and religious affiliation access, all of which  are regarded as the effective coping tools for the Lebanese people (Jaspal, R., et al., 2020). The pandemic has reshaped people’s understanding and view of the world, it has also shaken their comfort and support systems creating a sort of a trauma, which manifested in various symptoms ranging from demotivation to anxiety, and depression. “Constantly nervous, depressed, fearful, and stressed,” says a Psychology student at the American University of Beirut, describing her mental state over the past year.  

All of the previous elements add a different layer to the multifaceted problems plaguing the Lebanese population, further exacerbating their mental health conditions, particularly that of the youth. The impact of these different factors is best described in the words of one of the founders of BBB, who states, “The mental health situation of adolescents is indicative of the environment that they're living in, and here, where you have catastrophe after catastrophe, whether it’s the economic crisis, the pandemic, the explosion, or the political unrest, this accumulation of crises happening one after the other manifest in many different ways. I think that it does affect the productivity, views of the future, the stress levels that they [adolescents] have when thinking about future jobs, or their wellbeing and safety.”

As all of these overlapping crises cripple the lives of the Lebanese people, crushing whatever hope they have left, the government continues to toss the responsibility for the calamities of the country away, with no prospects of improvement in the foreseeable future. Here comes the role of civil society represented by various NGOs, who have been the main providers of mental health services on the ground, as government service sectors are in a seemingly long slumber. These NGOs ranging from Be Brave Beirut, Red Oak, Embrace, IDRAAC, and many more are doing their best to harness their skills and resources to provide for the community and support the people, in an attempt to alleviate the wearisome impact of the aforementioned crises on the mental health of the youth. However, a manager in BBB expresses that although all of these NGOs are undoubtedly doing their best, with each implementing unique and effective approaches to alleviate suffering, there needs to be more coordination between different organizations in order to achieve maximum efficacy and reach the largest number of people.