As a nation, we are deeply traumatised. These words from a licensed psychologist, complemented by dissertation findings suggesting that humour can be the last stage of trauma, further capture the essence of Pakistan’s national psychological condition. They reflect a deep-rooted psychological crisis that society refuses to acknowledge and has largely swept under the carpet. This comes with serious repercussions, including high suicide rates, unstable family lives, and high divorce rates. According to research published in 2024, more than 22 million Pakistanis suffer from anxiety, PTSD, and chronic stress.
These internal psychological wounds are rooted in the history of Partition and the time Pakistan was established, manifesting as a generational trauma passed down. Partition of 1947 was marked by mass slaughter and unprecedented displacement. Due to this, the newly established Pakistan started on a very rough patch, deprived of basic survival needs. Hence, the focus was to get settled, secure a job, and have material security. Not after very long 1971 disintegration happened. The war had its cost, suffered by the laymen. Now priority became roti, kapra, makan, and safety. Then came the Cold War, an international bloc politics between the USSR and the USA. The repercussions were faced by the normal public, due to spillover effects of extremism and radicalization. With the start of a new century, 9/11 occurred, impacting the very stability of a normal household beyond geopolitical shifts. There was immense fear going about of whether we'd be alive or not, or what the next Bush call to action behind “Do More” would be. This war-centric history reflects how war inflicts severe psychological trauma on masses, and it is passed on from generation to generation.
When a nation repeatedly turns political crises and even moments of grave danger into humour and memes, it may reflect more than resilience; it can also reveal a society living in a perpetual state of hypervigilance, where the collective nervous system struggles to relax.
The case of Pakistan pertinently reflects how trauma operates in daily life, and consequently it manifests in national culture. For instance, during the May 2025 confrontation when region was at verge of nuclear escalation, meme culture and humour were prevalent. This reflected indifference and a psychological phenomenon of hyper-vigilance. In a crisis-prone nation like Pakistan, society is perpetually under hypervigilance. The collective nervous system fails to relax; hence, society lives in survival mode. This survival mode has become a national culture. The national culture of converting every political crisis into satirical humour reflects a psychological urgency i.e persistence of a collective unhealed trauma. When bad experiences and traumas are left unhealed, the cycle of violence continues. Behind the homour, lies a paradox of resilience coupled with stigma associated with seeking therapy. The individuals who take a step towards therapy are ridiculed, mocked, and called names. In reality, these individuals, despite being few in number, demonstrate courage to break the pattern, end the cycle, and consequently contribute to the nation’s wellbeing.
Shahrukh Nadeem, in his latest book 100 things Pakistan needs to do before turning 100, presents a recommendation for national psychological transformation, i.e., creation of an autonomous institution responsible for firstly making therapy accessible, secondly, launching a national media campaign to address the taboo around mental health, thirdly, making emotional intelligence a compulsory component of the curriculum focusing on anger regulation, and learning self-worth. From a security perspective, this recommendation remains pertinent as psychological resilience is a part of statecraft. In this backdrop, Alfred Adler’s conception of social interest rooted in individual psychology serves as a blueprint. Trauma and bad experiences leave a lasting impact on human personality. In a society where childhood fears persist into unhealed adulthood, breaking the cycle requires conscious efforts through emotional rewiring and collective introspection. This aligns with Adler’s social interest that advocates utilizing bad experiences towards efforts: firstly by identifying tasks of life, secondly by attaching meaning to them, and lastly by integrating these tasks and meaning into social connectedness through cooperation and empathy.
While material success, military muscles, and economic strengths are crucial pillars for a nation’s rise. Psychological well-being and resilience are the backbone of a nation’s well-being. Pakistan repeatedly demonstrated its capability to survive beyond the existential crisis. However, the unaddressed collective trauma hinders reaching the full potential for national security and cohesion. Breaking the stigma through cooperative measures and normalized therapy are forward-looking measures towards stability.