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Rocket Fire on Israel Triggers Civilian Trauma

(Jerusalem Post) Tamara Zieve - After a Grad rocket destroyed a home in Beersheba on Wednesday, there was a 100% increase in calls to the Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center NATAL. Gila Sela, help line manager of NATAL, said it's reactivating symptoms in people who remember what happened in previous incidents. According to a new study by NATAL, 20% of Israelis suffer from symptoms of post-trauma and are at high risk of that developing into PTSD if they don't get help. While on regular days people manage to get on with their lives, Sela said, in times of tension, anxiety resurfaces. Dr. Tamar Lavi, NATAL's director of community outreach, stressed that Israelis living near Gaza have been experiencing a situation of insecurity and waves of conflict for almost 17 years. "There is a lot of hyper-vigilance and stress because you are always 15 seconds away from a disaster," she said, 15 seconds being the amount of time residents have to get to a shelter. She added that the combination of rockets, sirens, and incendiary kites and balloons "takes a toll on body, mind and spirit."
2018-10-18 00:00:00
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