Three Years of War: Nearly a Million Calls to ERAN, Loneliness on the Rise

In the three years since the outbreak of the war, the Israeli crisis hotline ERAN has received 928,911 calls. While the overall number of calls remained high, there was a slight decrease in the third year, with 316,514 calls in the first year, 320,486 in the second, and 291,911 in the third.

Of the total calls, 21,829 contained suicidal content, averaging 2.35% over the three years. ERAN noted that this rate was lower than the pre-war average of approximately 3%. The organization emphasized that suicidal distress stems from a combination of factors and should not be attributed to a single cause like the war.

Women accounted for 56% of all calls, while men made up 44%. Calls from teenagers and young adults up to age 24 consistently increased, rising from 19% in the first year to 23% in the third. A similar upward trend was observed among individuals aged 35-44, including reservists, whose calls rose from 15% to 17% over the same period.

Loneliness emerged as the most frequent issue, with the percentage of calls addressing it climbing from 28.2% in the first year to 41% in the third. Concurrently, calls related to emotional pain, depression, and acute distress decreased from 26.6% to about 20%, and those concerning anxiety, trauma, and loss dropped from 18.4% to 9.6%.

ERAN highlighted that this shift doesn't necessarily mean mental distress has lessened but reflects a change in the nature of issues reported. The organization also reported receiving 160,000 calls from active-duty and reserve soldiers over the three years. Men constituted about 60% of these calls, and women about 40%. Initially, calls from soldiers focused equally on emotional pain, anxiety, and loneliness, but in the second and third years, loneliness became the dominant theme at 41%, while other issues decreased.

Dr. Daniels stressed that suicidal ideation is complex and multifactorial, influenced by personal, social, and environmental factors. While the data doesn't pinpoint a single cause for the increase, it underscores the severity of distress reaching ERAN and the need for heightened attention to young people, even those who appear to be functioning normally, ensuring help is accessible.