October 8, 2026
Lebanese youth facing crises: Mental health is hostage to collapse and the absence of a horizon
The daily reality on the Lebanese street, from traffic disputes over trivial reasons and congestion in queues to increasing rates of complaints and insults, reflects a state of profound exhaustion that the rising generation is suffering from. These manifestations go beyond just daily nervousness to raise fundamental questions about the repercussions of the years of economic collapse, political turmoil, and successive wars on the mental health of young people, and whether this generation has shifted from planning for its future to being content with trying to get through its day with the least damage.
In this context, a study published by “BMC Public Health” magazine in 2025, which included 1,024 university students in their first year at Lebanese universities during the academic year 2023-2024, revealed disturbing numbers; 64.3% suffer from psychological distress, while 33.2% expressed a feeling of despair, 31.7% reported sleep disturbances, while 27.9% felt that the pressures exceeded their ability to bear. These indicators take on additional gravity because they were recorded before the outbreak of the last war and its ongoing repercussions.
Commenting on this, Dr. in Psychology, Hiyam Alaa El-Din, explained in an interview with “Lebanon Debate” that the Lebanese youth are going through one of the most complex psychological and social stages in their modern history, as a result of the intersection of economic, political and security pressures and the absence of a future vision, without giving them sufficient periods for recovery. This depletion appears in the details of daily life through physical and psychological fatigue, sleep disturbances, poor concentration, and irritability, leading to social withdrawal and loss of passion.
Jad, a 24-year-old accountant, embodies this reality. He notices his reactions and irritability changing as a result of the pressure of working extra hours to help his family cope with the insane rise in living expenses. Dr. Alaa El-Din explains this situation by saying that a person who is preoccupied with securing the basics of his life and suffers from a lack of sleep becomes extremely sensitive, so passing frictions in the street turn into major confrontations, and pent-up anger resulting from helplessness and injustice is released in the surroundings of family, friends, and strangers, pointing to the phenomenon of “emotional numbness” or “indifference” as a psychological defense mechanism in the face of stressful news.
For her part, 20-year-old university student “Hanan” summarizes her generation’s relationship with the future by saying that “everything in Lebanon is postponed” and that they live “one day at a time,” as the simplest dreams, such as starting a family or renting a house, collide with the high cost. This certificate is consistent with the concept of “Survival Mode” that Aladdin refers to, where the focus is limited to securing income, electricity, medicine, and security at the expense of long-term projects.
The matter is not limited to the anxiety of staying, but extends to an urgent desire to leave suffered by the bank employee, “Rabih” (34 years old), who is besieged by hesitation between his desire to emigrate and the difficulty of leaving his elderly parents in Lebanon without care, in a harsh equation that combines the anxiety of staying with the anxiety of leaving. This situation is consistent with the results of the “Arab Barometer” survey, which included 2,400 Lebanese between February and April 2024, and showed that 58% of young people between 18 and 29 years of age wish to immigrate, the basis of which is economic conditions.
The recent war did not bring about a recovering society, but rather increased the weight of previous crises. UNICEF surveys in January 2025 indicate that 72% of caregivers noticed their children’s anxiety and stress during the war, while 62% of them appeared sad or depressed.
Dr. Alaa El-Din warns that the danger lies in this suffering turning into “acceptable chaos” in which society becomes accustomed to poor services and security as a reality, which threatens the structure of society, its solidarity, and the depletion of its young talents. Here the great paradox emerges in the ability of the Lebanese youth to adapt and continue, which may turn into a heavy burden when the “temporary” becomes permanent, and living day by day becomes an inevitable way of life.
