Lived Experiences of Psychological Despair among War Victims in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study
Keywords:
Psychological despair, Hopelessness, War victims, Ex-FATA, Interpretative Phenomenological AnalysisAbstract
Present study aims to ascertain the lived experience of psychological despair among people from the Ex-FATA region of Pakistan affected by extended conflict and displacement. A purposive sample of 12 individuals (6 males and 6 females) age ranges 25–35 (M = 27.8, SD = 2.16) participated in semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the participants’ data. IPA revealed four superordinate themes from participants’ data such as Pervasive Experiences of Hopelessness and Psychological Defeat, Living under Chronic Uncertainty and Instability, Despair Arising from Broken Hopes and Perceived Neglect, and Enduring and Adapting to Prolonged Adversity. Results indicate that despair in war victims is a multidimensional and dynamic psychological progression, including emotional hopelessness, existential insecurity, disappointment with institutional support, and adaptive strategies such as habituation, tolerance, and nostalgic meaning making. Resilience among individuals seemed to contain continuous functioning alongside enduring despair, rather than reflecting the absence of suffering. These results indicate the need for clinical interventions that directly deal with hopelessness, together with structural improvements ensuring consistent humanitarian support, for populations affected by persistent conflict.
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