The Battle Within: The Psychological Scars of War and Conflicts

The Battle Within: The Psychological Scars of War and Conflicts

The Arabic term محطمة (muhattama) was used by 72.3% of Palestinian civilians to describe their crushed and broken state of psyche in February of 2010 during the blockade and power crisis in Gaza  (Barber et al). Since then, the political violence has only intensified — so what state of mind are Palestinians left with now?

This statistic is not a one-off analysis. It is part of a much larger, much scarier pattern:

We humans have instigated wars, suffered through genocide, and caused mass atrocities — therefore, it has become almost normal how desensitized we have become to violence and brutality.

But what changes from generation to generation is not whether such violence occurs, rather how deeply it reshapes the people who live through it. From a psychological lens, many scholars have analyzed the longitudinal and generational processes of fragmentation to identity (Hobfoll et al) which, in turn, affects national cohesion and rebuilding post-conflict.

The Illusion of Rehabilitation

The traditional process to rebuilding such nations has primarily been humanitarian aid and physical intervention on behalf of UN bodies. This approach has been branded the long-standing solution to “heal” conflict zones and restore governance. However, in recent years this methodology has become the subject of controversy, since broken nations persist and national disorder intensifies despite it. But how could it not, if such a solution is built on the foundations of ignorance and simplicity? Broken nations are not defined as nations at war; they are mainly characterized by heavy corruption, failed institutions, lack of national unity and a prolonged history of dysfunction. It is precisely these nations that emergency relief cannot reach, since a written check for rebuilt hospitals and highways means nothing to a failed institution housing broken minds. Moreover, foreign aid never comes for free — it always comes at a price. A price which traumatized civilians end up paying for through invisible strings that tie their nation’s recovery to the very donors who gracefully saved them, yet now hold leverage over their future — trading one form of dependency for another.

Exposure to political violence does not begin with the first rifle or grenade but with the outbursts of riots, protests for autonomy, indictment towards extremist beliefs, or simply through propaganda and mass media. These events all contribute to subsequent higher levels of post-traumatic stress (PTS)(Dubow et al), rigid conflict-based identities (Paez and Liu 114), broken understandings of national unity and a cycle of generational trauma which prolongs the process of rebuilding even after a conflict has been resolved. Thus, in order to avoid salvaging nations solely through indebting them to others, institutions such as the UN must realize that actual rebuilding requires generational work, where the starting point must be a child’s sense of identity formation and self. Only by starting there can the cycle of trauma and violence actually be broken, rather than merely paused between one outbreak and the next.

It is important to note that political violence not only destroys physical institutions and economies, but creates fragmented perceptions of reality by traumatizing collective memory, and disrupting social identity formation, thus, interfering with cultural transmission. Palestine and Iraq are both nations that have faced significant hardship and Western domination, and though their histories diverge, both suffer the same wounds.

Palestine: A Mandate Turned Fracture

For Palestine, the conflict dates back to the 1917 Balfour Declaration (Al Tahhan), when Britain supported a ‘national home for Jewish people’ in Palestine. Subsequently, this was followed by the British Mandate for Palestine, resulting in Britain governing the Palestinian territory, creating tensions between Arab Palestinians and the Jewish immigrants. Soon after the UN introduced the 1947 Partition Plan (Resolution 181) — aiming to divide land into Jewish and Arab states – but instead of creating peaceful coexistence, their plan instigated major wars, intifadas, displacements and disagreements to the two-state solution. The most recent violent genocide has been between Israel and Hamas, leading to severe malnutrition and famine in Gaza, as well as a death toll of over 75,000 Palestinians since October 7th 2023 (Mansour). To emphasize, human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world from birth to death (The Equality and Human Rights Commission), however, young children as early as newborn age are being stripped of these rights and subjected to abuse and oppression. Therefore, authors such as Brian K. Barber and Eric F. Dubow argue that such violations lead to significant deformities in psychological health and perceptions of reality.

Iraq: A War Built on a Lie

Iraq, on the other hand, faced many kinds of conflicts, witnessing massive casualties and incurring huge economic and national losses. The 2003 US-led invasion of Baghdad occurred under the Bush administration, claiming that Saddam Hussein was working with Al-Qaeda and together they were creating weapons of mass destruction (WMD) (Hinnebusch). Not long after, both claims later proved false: Iraq possessed no WMDs, and no credible link to Al-Qaeda existed. But by the time this became public, Baghdad had already fallen, and the Iraqi state had been dismantled, opening a power vacuum that plunged the country into sectarian violence and insurgency. Estimates of direct civilian deaths range from 150,000 to over 200,000, with hundreds of thousands more lives lost indirectly through the collapse of healthcare and basic infrastructure. That instability did not resolve when the fighting slowed; instead, it doubled. Sectarian fracture and a weakened Iraqi state created the conditions for the rise of ISIS between 2014 and 2017, whose campaign of atrocities included the genocide of Iraq’s Yazidi population. Thus, the 2003 invasion has been called the worst human tragedy of the twenty-first century (Ihsanoglu), becoming yet another case of political violence and long-term civilian damage.

The Architecture of a Broken Mind

To hold a nation together, civilians must have a common understanding of culture and self — and that understanding is not inherited genetically; it is built, piece by piece, starting from a person’s childhood. The primary reason for identity disruption lies deep within the core psychological backbone that plays the most necessary role in constructing a social identity. When this functional area is damaged, a person loses the ability to form a healthy perception of reality.

The numbers make the scale of that damage hard to ignore. Dubow et al. conducted a longitudinal study on 901 Israeli and 600 Palestinian youths throughout three separate age cohorts. Dubow also studied three ethnic subgroups in order to examine the effects of violence cross-culturally and concluded that subsequent higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) become prevalent across the populations, even when prior psychological functioning is taken into account (11). These results prove that violence is not solely temporary emotional stress, but it also actively prevents healthy, long-term psychological development. This is very significant, since social identity formation relies heavily on solid self-perception, emotional intelligence, emotional regulation and the ability to interpret lived experiences reasonably; therefore, when these psychological functions are fragmented in younger years, most children grow up with weak mental functions that are necessary to secure a stable self-identity. Thereby, creating a cross-generational process where perceptions of self are traumatized and effects of such psychological stress are passed on through generations.

Additionally, Barber et al. explains what such significant levels of violence do to individual lived experiences and the broken state of psyche a society can be left with. Barber focuses on 68 Palestinians within a specific socio-economic status and an older age category in order to obtain results based on a much longer and emotional lived reality. Barber conducted thorough interviews and found participants often describing themselves as “one’s self, spirit, or future being broken or destroyed” as well as feeling “psychologically and emotionally exhausted” (11). This supports Dubow’s findings by exploring how psychological destruction is not generally quantifiable but very deeply embedded within the victims’ brains and transforms it into an internalized image of fractured self-identity. Although Dubow successfully captures a visual and statistical analysis, the victims of such distressing political violence do not merely carry numbers on their heads but also stories of severe trauma, memories of destruction and the weight of uncertainty for the future. Therefore, these emotional aspects illustrate the depth to which prolonged exposure to violence collapses individual self-perception and their understanding of the meaning of life. This source shows how in reality, political violence goes beyond numbers and explores how such events aren’t centered around momentary psychological stress but a much longer fragmentation of the fundamental sense of self that humans require in order to form healthy social identities and self-perceptions.

From a more structural perspective, Zvi and Cohen focus on cognitive thinking styles and coping mechanisms rather than solely on the outcomes. These two authors explain that psychological trauma is not consistent across all civilians, and although their findings do confirm that prolonged exposure to political violence is associated with higher levels of PTS symptoms, they narrate how the effects of trauma are different depending on whether individuals utilize more rational or experiential thinking styles (3). This insinuates that even though violence creates very unstable psychological conditions and environments, it is up to the internal cognitive systems to manage the outcomes, whether the damage is intensified or mediated. Where Dubow and Barber heavily focus on the psychological damage that comes as a result of exposure to violence, Zvi and Cohen conclude that personal psychological abilities and cognitive strength help in determining how deeply every individual is affected.

These three studies are not mutually exclusive findings; they form three intertwined layers of the same political wound. Together they make the case that political violence damages social identity formation not solely through exposure but through the fragmentation of the psychological systems humans rely on to reflect, process, and interpret those events in the first place. Dubow shows the development impacts across youth populations and analyses the increase of PTS symptoms over time. Barber further supports these statistics with deep emotional revelations and analysis of internal identity collapse through depression. Lastly, Zvi and Cohen explore a potential mediation tactic that illustrates how the relationship between violence and fragmentation of identity can be conditional and worked on, rather than fixed forever.

The Architecture of a Collapse

If identity is built in the mind, it is held in place by the world around it — and that world can collapse just as easily.

Besides the psychological impacts of war, it also destroys various social, cultural, and institutional structures that are necessary for national rebuilding. Ihsanoglu writes that “A societal structure is important for shaping a country’s norms, values and daily course of life”, however, “In Iraq it has been replaced by despair and fear” (921), emphasizing how crucial a stable social environment is as the primary factor serving to protect against national disintegration. Social structures such as schools, community interactions, and shared spaces are where children become involved with different cultural values and norms, where individuals are able to share their beliefs and collective common ground, and where identity is reinforced daily. Through such interactions individuals are able to grasp an understanding of collective community whether it’s on a smaller scale, or something as large as the culture of an entire nation. When such “fabric” is “unraveled” citizens begin to lose stability and the ability to predict future outcomes, therefore, shared routines begin to disappear and the concept of common cultural experiences slowly deteriorates. Thus, survival strategies are deployed, indicating a shift from collective identity to individual instinct and self-protection, manifesting as a fragmented nation — since each individual no longer acts as part of a nation, but rather as thousands of isolated individuals. Furthermore, these phenomena destroy institutional abilities and deprive citizens of basic services (923) — due to the absence of vital infrastructure — therefore, creating forced migration and physically dispersing populations (919). Migration then becomes a significant barrier to cultural transmission, since generations are no longer able to convey cultural values, norms and beliefs due to the loss of collective connection but also the physical absence of community. Therefore, without properly functioning social and cultural systems, individuals lose the shared norms and experiences that are mandatory for strong national identity, leading to fragmentation at both individual and community levels — becoming the first stage of persisting broken nations.

While social structures form the foundation of identity, conflict continues to deepen this crisis by dismantling political and institutional bodies that are essential for maintaining stability and collective national purpose. Hinnebusch explores how the “deconstruction of the Iraqi state, depriving Iraq of collective purpose or identity” led to the weak country that exists today (20). Physical institutions ultimately provide most of the necessary governance, law and direction that a population requires, however, when these structures are removed, the lack of central authority leads to a lack of national coordination. Moreover, a “collective purpose” requires shared national goals, and without such ambitions identity begins to lose sense of meaning. The US invasion of Iraq aimed at destroying the Ba’thist regime led by Saddam Hussein, however, instead of liberating the state of Iraq — which is what the West often uses to defend their imperial tactics — it only created a power vacuum that led to sectarian leadership and the immense risk of civil war (19). The imperial Bush administration relied upon the fact that Iraq consisted of various different religious groups, which, with the right amount of political propaganda and force, could be placed against each other, creating forced sectarianism. Thus, these divisions become institutionalized, promoting long-term instability and extremism. Where Ihsanoglu focuses on the idea of social structures, civilian life, and the destruction of collective identity, Hinnebusch emphasises the importance of physical institutions as the primary control over national stability and rule. Similarly to findings from Barber and Dubow et al. Hinnebusch explains that there is a common denominator for the US led imperialist agenda, which is lobbied by Israeli bodies for personal gain and benefit. These occupations create brutal, shameful conditions for the Palestinians, whilst denying them of access to clean food supplies, water, education and care. Such a significant level of violence and humiliation erodes trust in authority and prevents any legitimacy of rebuilding efforts. Consequently, resulting in competing identities and fragmented self-perceptions, as well as physically unstable nations.

Many diplomats and politicians seem to forget that social structures create the norms, values and daily life rituals that individuals associate with a collective national identity. Therefore, without these belief systems a loss of shared identity occurs at a community level, where no amount of canned foods and paved roads will fix a person who’s at war with himself internally (Ihsanoglu 921). Hinnebusch explores the other half of the picture, explaining how institutional structures provide order, governance and collective purpose on a more formal and legal level. States lacking such structures will not have national unity and will lack the stability required to build civil societies and strong nations. Therefore, social identity requires the existence of both aspects: strong institutions and a strong culture to hold a nation together, since one without the other collapses into fragments.

Discarding what was institutionalized

If economic aid was enough to restore all broken nations today, the list of such nations would not continue growing longer every year.

Thus, in order to prevent long-term damage and work towards rehabilitation, scholars agree that addressing psychological and socio-cognitive damage hand in hand with extensive mediation methods is necessary.

Canetti et al. explores the psychological effects exposure to violence has on social identity. The study mentions that “A well-organized system of societal beliefs, attitudes and emotions penetrates the institutions and communication channels of the society” (6). So in order to rebuild a strong nation, it is crucial to understand that the conflict may be temporary, but the script of it becomes a system of thinking embedded in education, media, politics and propaganda. Individuals living within conflict-ridden regions don’t only experience the conflict physically but also begin to live through it as an inherently fixed worldview. This becomes culturally transmitted across generations, creating identities that are structured around fear, threat and violent opposition rather than cultural significance and national importance (4). Since this system is institutionalized and ingrained deep within, rebuilding infrastructure, sending economic aid, and focusing on monetary policies will not singlehandedly dismantle years of trauma and “fix” entirely different social identities and beliefs.

In addition to understanding the current belief systems that have been formed, it is important to work on transforming collective memory and narratives, since this allows societies to alter the interpretation of their past and promote healthy cultural transmission. Paez and Liu study how conflict can be mediated and resolved without future hostility through the reconstruction of collective memory, which is responsible for shaping human identities, values and the sense of group belonging. Therefore, if collective memories remain heavily conflict-centered and focused on the trauma that had been inflicted upon them, identity will be stubborn and will not be open to change (114). Cognitive reconfiguration means that national identity will be redefined and it will shift from deep rooted victim beliefs into an understanding of coexistence and forgiveness, therefore, creating a shared future that is not built on hostility, but rather the formation of healthy social identities. However, this can be deemed as very difficult to achieve since full educational reform and political willingness would be required. Yet it is important to note that this is an extremely powerful long-term solution.

Subsequently, Dubow et al. as well as Zvi and Cohen, both study the micro-level institutions that are necessary at the individual and community level in order to mitigate the long term effects of violence. These sources deepen prior findings by providing structural cognitive solutions which could be built upon to create realistic recovery plans. Dubow’s data shows that positive parenting operates as a protective buffer against traumatic experience, meaning the family unit — often dismissed as too small to matter against something as large as war — is in fact one of the first places culture either survives or does not (Dubow et al. 12). Additionally, cultural transmission primarily occurs through close family members, thus, creating strong environments prevents the deterioration of culture, regardless of the presence of conflict. Zvi and Cohen further explore how PTS can be regulated by studying different cognitive functions, specifically thinking styles. Their study found that “low rational thinking is related with elevated PTS, both directly and indirectly through the mediation of high emotion focused coping” (4), meaning that when individuals respond to emotionally driven situations and utilize irrational thinking patterns, their brain reacts negatively to the situation, thus encoding it as a traumatic response. Incidentally, the human brain hyperfixates on the brutality of the conflict rather than rationally analyzing it in order to move forward. Hence, the authors suggest that implementing programs linked to managing cognitive thinking styles, self-security and wellbeing, can help rationalize trauma and promote adaptation rather than hostility — preventing any future cultural interference and tension (6). However, it is important to note that these structural abilities can only occur within safer and less intensely destructed environments, since human cognition cannot solely operate on fight or flight, and requires less intense circumstances. This is supported by their study, as it was conducted within Israeli occupied regions which face much less intense violent force and conflict, allowing citizens to live within secure environments to practice trauma recognition and regulation. Taken together, it is evident that scholars agree with the notion of economic aid not being sufficient enough to rebuild a terrorized nation, therefore, it is crucial for governments to work towards tailored programs that focus on psychological aid and personal growth in order to prevent cultural degradation and traumatized societies.

The Seduction behind Shared Suffering

At this point, wouldn’t it be reasonable to raise an objection? Wouldn't shared suffering also unite people?

Some critics argue that political violence strengthens national identity through shared memories of trauma, opposition and a hero-victim complex, reinforcing national unity rather than sectarianism. Canetti et al. analyzes conflict as a shared narrative through which individuals obtain a common understanding of the violence (6). Under this “ethos of conflict” people begin to unite through a single collective identity which is shaped by fear and struggle, giving societies a sense of purpose, direction and belonging. Moreover, “societies adopt conflict-supporting beliefs… reducing their sense of uncertainty and stress”, thus relying on psychological comfort and reinforcing a sense of unity (3). It is understandable to suggest that a nation faced with invasion and terror would unify against a common enemy and strengthen patriotic identity, since this sense of unity can increase resilience and strength, especially in countries with strong national attachment. However, this reasoning overlooks the core issues within conflict-ridden societies. The national identity that is created through collective memories of conflict are heavily based on fear, perceived threat, and an “us vs them” mentality which creates rigid boundaries and prejudiced opinions of conflict (3). Consequently, identity becomes dependent on the existence of a common enemy, thus encouraging a system where a nation can only be whole if hostility towards the aggressor is heavily prevalent, making it unstable and not feasible in the long term.

Additionally, Paez and Liu support this argument by explaining how collective memory further reinforces fear, hostility and mistrust, leading to ongoing division and acting as a barrier to peace resolution (114). Through collective hatred and a false idea of pride, it is common for oppressors to delegitimize the opponent in order to justify the on-going political. Therefore, instead of creating stable and strong nations, this shared identity constrains societies to endless cycles of conflict and an inherited sense of anger, preventing peace and coexistence. As mentioned previously, the complete reconfiguration of collective memory would be the most ideal solution towards reconciliation and respect (120). Societies should not rely on the temporary unity that is created through fear and hate, since it ultimately restructures identity into a conflict-based system which further reinforces division. If political institutions want to rebuild strong nations, it should not be done through hostility, since this will promote a fragile society that is dependent on conflict. Instead, governments should focus on creating safe environments to heal trauma, implementing psycho-social programs focused on self growth, and attempting to transform negative narratives, in order to sustain lasting peace and cohesion.

Laying The Bricks Right

Recognizing where the wound bleeds is not the same as healing it and preventing further infection.

In order to completely deconstruct the loop of hyperfixation and trauma-encoding, cognitive regulation must occur in “safer and less intensely destructed environments” (Zvi and Cohen). This aspect is often ignored by most active humanitarian organizations. It is theatrical to conduct trauma-processing workshops under active blockades, carpet bombings or dying regions, since physical and food security must exist to prevent the nervous system from treating every day as a battlefield. International interference fails on two separate occasions: it arrives too early for any psychological work to be successful, and leaves too soon to see progress. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s guidelines on mental health and psychological support in emergency situations warn against “parachuting” short-term programs into communities that require long term infrastructure and cultural awareness. A photo op is easy to conduct, but rebuilding a shattered country through the process of security, then stability, then psychological work — is a lot more challenging.

Once the floor of safety is established, a lot of progress can be built without necessarily starting from scratch. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee promotes community-based mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) models, which can be embedded within schools, clinics, and community structures rather than piloted into short-staffed clinics and discarded once funding has stopped. Therefore, training local teachers and medical staff to recognize and respond to trauma symptoms becomes crucial. In the long term these strategies will be more beneficial than temporary Western interference, because paying local practitioners will provide a lot more incentive to work for progress and remain. Iraq has enough people to do this work; however, they lack sustained investment to allow community structures like schools, and youth centers to formally take on psychosocial responsibility unpaid. Palestine, on the other hand, has unfortunately faced a much more intense level of destruction over the last 78 years, therefore, it requires more attention to physical infrastructure first.

Another important pillar to progress is planned and coordinated community memory reconstruction. This is a very real concept which should be conveyed through transitional justice literature, truth-telling commissions, and curriculum reform. However, a commission for post-apartheid South Africa cannot be sent to Gaza or Baghdad; each memory reconfiguration must be created and applied through careful consideration of the culture’s history and conflict style. Studies have also shown that imposing a shared narrative from the outside or flattening it into a single “unity” story may create new resentments rather than heal current ones. The main lesson is to encourage survivors and communities to create their own testimony processes, monuments, and writings, with international authorities financing and protecting the process rather than rewriting the script.

This process is not cheap, politically convenient or instantly effective; therefore, it is often disregarded. Every study offered in this article concludes that identity reformation is generational, but humanitarian funding is two to three years. Donor nations can rebuild a hospital in 18 months and proclaim it a success, but they cannot cure a damaged national mentality. Broken nations stay broken because they continue to receive enough funding to see progress, but too little to make it stay. The fundamental rationale for shifting resources from emergency economic aid to psychological infrastructure is that it addresses the symptom of a society that has lost its ability to envision a shared future. Without a generation that trusts institutions again, a repaired hospital becomes just another burnt-down structure in the cycle of violence. If international organisations want to prevent sectarian fragmentation, forced migration, and conflict-dependent identity, psychosocial work must be the department that receives the most funding beyond the first year. This department must be at the very center of all recovery efforts.

To conclude this analysis, it is imperative to grasp the fact that political violence does not create strong and resilient nations; instead, it enforces systematic fragmentation to psychological, social and institutional foundations, disturbing the process of identity formation. As a result, identity is not merely damaged by violence but becomes reformed into a conflict-dependent system that does not function without the presence of hostility. The evidence discusses the structural, psychological and cognitive aspects of identity, with each one playing a significant role in the outcomes of rehabilitation. Therefore, in order for a nation to establish a secure national identity, strong institutions, and functioning social systems — healthy psychological development is required. However, war prevents this by traumatizing collective memory, restructuring shared experiences, and preventing unification. Consequently, a self-perpetuating cycle is created, disabling progress and forgiveness, since the three main functions continue interacting and reinforcing one another. Such a process amplifies the effects of traumatic events and prolongs conflict from a psychological perspective rather than solely physical. On a broader scale, this evidence is crucial for governments and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to realize that typical humanitarian rehabilitation will not unify a nation if focus is not shifted from economic reconstruction towards psycho-social work. This includes a complete educational reform, progressive mental health support systems, trauma recovery, and collective memory reconstruction. Without this change, nations will remain unstable and peace will be a temporary illusion.

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