“Anyone Else Struggling with Work-Genocide Balance?” Exploring the Psychological and Social Impact of Collective Annihilation in Gaza

This study investigates the psychological and social impact of the ongoing colonial violence in Gaza, both on the local population and on distant witnesses. Drawing on 30 testimonies collected between November 2023 and June 2024, the research captures the lived experiences from two distinct groups: 15 Palestinian participants living in the Gaza Strip, and 15 mental health professionals (including psychotherapists and academics) based in Europe. Using phenomenological and thematic analysis, the findings reveal the profound effects of genocidal violence on mental health, emotional resilience, and meaning-making processes. For Palestinians, daily exposure of bombardment, displacement, and systemic dehumanization undermines personal and collective agency, resulting in emotional numbness, anger, and alienation. Witnesses from European contexts reported helplessness, disorientation, and moral injury, often struggling with their perceived complicity in global systems of oppression. The study challenges conventional trauma frameworks, emphasizing the need to conceptualize colonial trauma as continuous, collective, and politically rooted. It argues for integrating social and political dimensions into psychological approaches to trauma, and highlight the ethical and political importance of bearing witness. Ultimately, the paper calls for a transnational process of collective healing and solidarity, aimed at dismantling the structural foundations of violence and dehumanization.