We got used to saying: “The war will end – and it will be easier.”
But there's a problem here. For many people in Israel, the war is not really over.
Classical psychology dealt with trauma as an event that has already occurred: a war, a disaster, or an attack. The event has ended – and the body begins to gradually return to balance.
But Israel has led researchers to look at things differently. Because there are people who live with the feeling: “It can happen again.”
Thus, the concept of “Continuous Traumatic Stress” (CTS) was born.
And this is not just expressed through fear. Sometimes it looks completely different:
— Checking news without a break; — It's hard to relax even at home; — A prolonged feeling of internal tension; — Jumping at every loud noise; — A feeling that something is about to happen; — Outbursts of anger or irritability; — Sleep problems; — Difficulty concentrating.
And the hardest part – the children.
Because an adult at least remembers how life looks without this tension. But a child can grow up thinking that this is normal.
In 2025, a study was published on children and families in Israel after the events of October 7:
Children of War: Examining the Associations between War Exposure, Maternal PTSD, and Continuous Traumatic Stress on Israeli Children’s PTSD
The researchers found that continuous stress affects not only through the events themselves, but also through the emotional state of the family. The impact was particularly significant among young children.
When a society lives for a long time in a state of continuous stress, the need for psychological support also grows. Therefore, the question of increasing the number of psychologists and changes in the Psychologists Law of 1977 is no longer just a professional question.
It's a question about the future of our society. A question of who will be recruited to the army in a few years. A question of whether there will be anyone to recruit, and whether young Israelis who will reach the army will have emotional stability.
The Psychologists Law was enacted in 1977. In the party programs before the elections, we did not see clear commitments to change the situation and increase the number of psychologists.
And what do you think? Maybe it's time for direct democracy? A situation where a responsible citizen is asked not only on election day – but constantly.
Dr. Guttanik “The Citizen's Compass”
