October 7th, two years on: Young survivors who attended Nova festival experiencing PTSD variations

Many Nova Festival survivors from October 7th are manifesting PTSD symptoms: intrusive memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional numbing, avoidance of reminders of the event, explains Dr. Demian Halperin, MD, Senior psychiatrist at Maccabi Health Services, Head of Psychiatric Support at SafeHeart NGO. Affected individuals may show hyperarousal, being easily startled, having difficulty sleeping, irritability, being constantly on guard. Some struggle with survivor guilt and existential crisis: “Why did I survive when so many did not?” Rates of depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation have been reported as elevated. One report warns of a “lost generation” if mental health support isn’t scaled up.