Israel is no stranger to crisis. We know how to mobilize overnight, how to rally in times of war, and how to hold one another when our very sense of security collapses. But every crisis leaves scars. Today, we are facing a quieter, more insidious battle: an explosion of trauma, mental distress, and addiction.
Since October 7, thousands of Israelis have lived through terror, displacement, and the unbearable loss of loved ones. Countless more – those who never heard a siren or felt a rocket overhead – have still been pierced by horror: graphic videos, endless news alerts, and the dislocation of work, school, and home. In Israel, the front line is everywhere.
The psychological wounds of this era run deep. Israeli Center for Addictions (ICA) data reveal what many already sense: symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) surged in the months after October 7. While they have eased slightly, they remain dangerously high well into 2024 and 2025.
Behind the statistics are stories we all recognize: children too afraid to sleep alone, reservists back in their living rooms but trapped in battlefield memories, and uprooted families still waiting for answers that may never come.
And when trauma goes untreated, suffering seeks an outlet. Far too often, that outlet is self-medication: alcohol, cannabis, prescription sedatives, stimulants – or compulsive gambling and other addictive behaviors. What begins as a desperate attempt to dull the pain can quickly spiral into dependence.
The numbers are stark: one in four Israelis now reports problematic substance use. Among young adults – the very age group that should be carrying our future forward – that number rises to nearly one in three. Among those still struggling with PTSD symptoms, it is more than half.
Trauma and addiction are not separate problems. They are intertwined, two sides of the same coin. Yet while trauma has begun to claim its place in the public conversation, addiction remains shrouded in silence, shame, and stigma.
Despite decades of research proving that addiction is a medical condition with neurobiological and psychological roots, those suffering are still too often judged as weak, reckless, or morally flawed – when in truth, they are people in unbearable pain searching for relief.
The consequence is tragic: only about 10% of Israelis struggling with addiction ever seek help. The rest suffer in isolation, carrying a secret that corrodes families, weakens communities, and chips away at the resilience on which our national security ultimately depends. We are at risk of raising a generation marked not just by visible trauma but by hidden wounds – papered over with substances or behaviors that provide only fleeting escape.
Israel knows how to respond to emergencies. We act with urgency. We pool our resources. We refuse to look away. The crisis of trauma and addiction demands that same resolve.
This means breaking down the artificial walls between mental health and addiction services and creating truly integrated systems that treat both together rather than in fragmented silos. It means speaking openly to dismantle stigma so that those who courageously share their struggles – like actor and comedian Udi Kagan – are not rare exceptions but part of a collective national voice.
And it means extending care beyond the clinic walls, into schools, workplaces, community centers, and military units, where support is needed most.
Healing will not come from one program, one ministry, or one heroic effort. It must be a coordinated mission: government, health systems, educators, employers, and civil society – all weaving trauma and addiction care into the fabric of daily life.
Israel has survived because of its strength. But survival is not enough. If we want to heal as a nation, we must face not only the battles on the borders but also the battles happening quietly – in bedrooms, living rooms, hearts, and minds across this country.
The immediate danger may pass. The pain will not. Unless we confront it openly and together, trauma and addiction will remain our unfinished war.
The writer is co-founder and academic director of ICA.