Psychological Support Amidst the Difficult Circumstances in Lebanon
In light of the severe crises that cast its shadows over Lebanon, mental health is becoming an issue in the country. Therefore, the Middle East Council of Churches, Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, continues its implementation of mental health awareness sessions. It organized recently a new session Session to address such a topic. A group of women were invited to the session at Our Lady Dispensary, affiliated to MECC, and located in the Sabtieh region – Lebanon.
During the session, one of the Council’s social workers explained to the participant’s ways of dealing with stress and how to mitigate its impact. Usually, anxiety is the real culprit behind stress and failing to understand or manage it can lead to more significant problems such as depression, unproductivity, social isolation, and in extreme cases, suicide.
As such, the social worker explains to women having anxiety is normal and in many cases it can be beneficial as it pushes people to be productive. However, too much anxiety can cause a lot of unwanted stress that can have a wide variety of symptoms such as high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney failure, and heart problems. Therefore, beneficiaries were asked to list the issues that bother them so that the social worker can advise them on the best affordable means to use, without having to consult any doctor or use medication.
Beneficiaries were grateful for learning new approaches for dealing with anxiety and stress. One attendee of the session commented: “If only we had such training during our teen years. Our lives would have been completely different. Nevertheless, the session was very fruitful, especially during such difficult times.”
