A groundbreaking study conducted in SAHAR-Online Mental Support, University of Haifa and Ben Gurion University analyzed real-time helpline data has revealed a surprising shift in the emotional distress experienced by Israelis following the October 7 terror attacks. While expressions of suicidality and depression decreased, loneliness emerged as a dominant concern, particularly among women and younger users.
Researchers using SAHAR mental health helpline examined 17,523 anonymized text chats spanning two eight-month periods: the year before the attacks (October 2022 to May 2023) and the crisis period following October 7, 2023, through May 2024. The findings paint a nuanced picture of how national trauma reshapes the landscape of psychological distress.
The data showed that suicide-related conversations dropped from 17.8% to 12.9% of all chats, while depression-related discussions fell even more dramatically, from 17.8% to just 8.2%. In stark contrast, loneliness-related conversations increased from 14.7% to 19.0% during the crisis period.
"What we're seeing is a fundamental reshaping of how people express their distress during national trauma," said Dr Meytal Grimland, a clinical psychologist and the lead researcher on the study. "The initial social cohesion that often follows major crises may temporarily buffer against suicidal ideation, but it doesn't prevent the deep sense of isolation that emerges as people process these experiences."
The study employed sophisticated forecasting models trained on pre crisis data , which did not anticipate the increase in loneliness and the decline in depression-related help-seeking. This divergence from expected patterns underscores the breadth of the crisis's psychological impact.
Demographic analysis revealed that women and younger users experienced relatively larger increases in loneliness. The proportion of female helpline users rose from 68.3% before the crisis to 72.3% during it, while users aged 10-13 increased by 1.8 percentage points and those aged 41-50 by 2.7 percentage points.
Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz, Clinical Psychologist, head of the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide and Mental Pain Studies at University of Haifa and the senior author of the study, emphasized the clinical implications: "These findings challenge us to rethink our crisis response strategies. We can't rely solely on suicide prevention protocols during national emergencies. We need adaptive interventions that specifically target loneliness and social disconnection, which may represent the more pervasive mental health challenge in prolonged conflict situations."
The research team noted that while overall help-seeking volume surged after October 7, the shift in the type of distress expressed suggests different underlying psychological mechanisms at play. The decline in suicidal expressions may reflect the "pulling together" phenomenon often observed after collective trauma, in which heightened social cohesion provides a temporary protective buffer against suicidal ideation.
At the same time, this sense of cohesion may be insufficient to mitigate loneliness, particularly as the crisis persists.The observed surge in loneliness suggests that feelings of social isolation can coexist with collective solidarity and may emerge as immediate threats recede. The researchers caution that this pattern may reflect a postponement rather than a resolution of suicide risk. Previous studies from crisis-affected regions have shown that loneliness during prolonged conflict can shape trajectories of depression and suicidality over time, particularly among vulnerable populations.
"Digital helplines offer us an unprecedented real-time window into population mental health," Grimland noted. "This kind of surveillance can guide public health responses as crises unfold, rather than waiting months or years for traditional survey data."
Inbar Shenfeld, CEO of SAHAR, reflected on the operational implications: "Our volunteers witnessed this shift firsthand. The conversations changed, people weren't just seeking crisis intervention for immediate danger, they needed someone to talk to because they felt profoundly alone, even surrounded by family and community."
The study, published in Psychiatry Research, represents one of the first large-scale analyses using helpline chat data to track emotional distress during an unfolding national crisis. The researchers advocate for continued monitoring and the development of targeted loneliness-reduction interventions that can be rapidly deployed during future emergencies.
As Israel continues to navigate the aftermath of October 7, these findings suggest that addressing social isolation may may play a role alongside traditional suicide prevention efforts in supporting population mental health during extended periods of national trauma.