Counselors at Lebanon’s crisis hotline say they are witnessing skyrocketing calls from patients suffering depression, anxiety and insomnia as they continue to relive the trauma from the massive Beirut port blast one year on – with some callers as young as nine years old.

Mental health wounds for those who lived through the August 4 explosion have resurfaced in recent months, with many yet to receive justice for the tragedy, Reve Romanos, the supervisor at the region’s only national suicide hotline, told Al Arabiya English.

“When an anniversary of a tragedy happens, it can be psychologically very distressing,” Embrace Lifeline’s supervisor said.
“People’s memories are coming back from the event and they are reliving the tragedy, causing them to experience sadness, anxiety, insomnia.”

“We get so many callers from people of all walks of life, calls for social assistance, grandparents who have already lived through many traumatic events and the blast has triggered these past memories.”
“Even young people – children as young as nine – are calling us – affected by their parent’s grief.”