Many residents of cities located in the center of the country that were not exposed under the Hizbullah rocket fire during the second Lebanon war (2006) have however suffered from high levels of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD – acronym in English by post-traumatic stress disorder), according to a study conducted at the University of Haifa with the cooperation of researchers specializing in trauma (PTSD) of Boston University. In the prestigious international journal Journal of Psychology was published an article written by Prof. Eli Zomer who sets: Although we find that the post-traumatic stress level was much higher among residents of Kiryat Shmona suffered relentless missile attacks, we were surprised by the high levels of stress among the residents who were not exposed in any way to the rockets. Zomer, who led the study together with the student for the doctoral degree, Aviva Zarihan-Weizman, considered to 317 Kiriat Shmona residents, city that was bombed by 520 missiles; and an equal number of inhabitants of Kfar Yona, city which is located 7 km from Netanya, but which was not bombed were also surveyed. Examination of the latter from the point of view of post-traumatic symptoms: rapid pulse, difficulty sleeping, flash-backs of the war, nightmares and driven situations that made them remember traumatic events as for example look at the news on television, came to establish that while 38% of the inhabitants of Kiryat Shmona had a high degree of PTSD symptoms during the war12% of the inhabitants of Kfar Yona reported having the same problems. The researchers came to the conclusion that when a person is exposed to the experiences of war and terrorism, the risk of suffering from PTSD is lower.
This means that the exposure of the Israelis to violent incidents such as terrorist attacks or the Hizbullah attacks immediately creates an emotional tension, but over time people are strengthened and know to cope with these situations. For better understand the implications of being exposed to a war with missiles is important to closely study the experiences that the israeli public has accumulated, said Prof. Eli Zomer. University of Haifa Reloj.