WAKHONG Listening Circle: "Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies"

On World Mental Health Day, we held a special edition of our WAKHONG Listening Circle. The theme was "Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies," and it brought 21 people together from seven different Relief Camps, Relief Camp Managing Committees, and Local Community.

The conversation revealed a painful truth: mental health struggles are deeply intertwined with the harsh realities of displacement. People spoke of a profound sense of hopelessness, fueled by poverty, homelessness, lack of a privacy and safe space. The discussion highlighted how the collapse of livelihoods, coupled with social friction, wears down the human spirit. We heard how misunderstandings can create divisions even among fellow IDPs, and how local community members, who are themselves suffering from crippling inflation and a lack of income, sometimes direct their frustration by scolding and mistreating those in the camps. The ongoing crisis was described as a force that is crushing…