Im afraid of being mobilized: how the conflict in the Middle East revives fear of a 3rd world war

Mathieu Alfonsi Published on March 4, 2026 at 19:46

“I’m afraid that France may be drawn into a war it did not decide on. I fear that we’ll be forced to deploy our army, potentially be mobilized in the rear, and that the course of my life will be completely disrupted. Although it seems very unlikely, I can’t imagine not going if France is threatened with annexation.” War in Ukraine and Gaza, Greenland, and now a general conflict in the Middle East: faced with increasingly worrying international news, Jean, a 28-year-old Parisian, has developed anxieties related to the generalization of an international conflict. And he’s not the only one. Contacted by actu.fr, clinical psychologist Evelyne Josse confirms that a number of people are suffering from anxiety related to the fear of a third world war, and to current events in general. Although this concept is not a recognized syndrome, it goes by various names such as ecoanxiety, politicoanxiety, war anxiety, or headline stress disorder. The recent events in Iran and the Middle East have added fuel to the fire, which did not need any more feeding.

Crises that feed off each other Jean, who works as a graphic designer in an art gallery in Paris, did not wait for the attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States to develop his fears. He speaks of a “progressive awareness” since the first term of Donald Trump and facing “the rise of the extreme right on a global scale”. The revelations from Edward Snowden and Julian Assange also put him in a state of vigilance. Jean especially fears an escalation scenario where China would be drawn into a conflict with the United States, making the war global rather than regional. He believes that the possibility of a bombing on Paris to destabilize France cannot be ruled out.

Catastrophic scenarios If his anxieties are deeply rooted and old, they were revived on the morning of Saturday, February 28, when Jean woke up after a night out, discovering the start of the Iran-Israel conflict with US strikes on the Middle Eastern country. This anxiety is characterized by catastrophic scenarios in his mind.

“I imagine what will happen, I think about the chain reactions. I try to stay ahead to anticipate, because it can happen in one or two days. For example, how to leave Paris quickly?” – Jean

Evelyne Josse adds: “Some people are afraid of attacks on our soil and for conflicts to spread.” Jean’s biggest fear is an escalation scenario where China gets involved in a conflict with the United States, turning the war from regional to global. He believes that the possibility of a bombing in Paris to destabilize France cannot be ruled out.

Concrete symptoms In his daily life, these anxieties have tangible consequences. Jean feels a lack of lightness on a daily basis, “an anxious atmosphere that is heavy.” “The future as he imagined it has become barely conceivable.” “My profession counts for nothing in a conflict. My career would be jeopardized if we were at war,” he predicts. As for children, he wonders: “In what kind of world will they live?”

According to Evelyne Josse, these anxiety symptoms can be cognitive – intrusive thoughts, mood swings, floating anxiety, loss of pleasure in life – as well as physical – sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, tension. Some people may experience brain fog, where their ability to work is affected by their anxiety.

“If these symptoms persist for several weeks, the psychologist advises seeking help. However, Jean, who saw a therapist for years, did not see the point in talking about it to him: ‘What can she do about it? Nobody can do anything. It’s clear: the global order is changing significantly.”This state of mind in which the young Parisian finds himself has a name: the concept of learned helplessness. In the face of seemingly uncontrollable conflicts, we develop the conviction that no matter what we do, we cannot change anything,” explains the psychologist. Evelyne Josse also warns against another concept: the terror management theory. “Facing omnipresent danger and to protect ourselves from existential anxiety, the human reflex is to strengthen our identity beliefs and our worldview. We tend to radicalize ourselves. We connect to something larger than ourselves, to our beliefs and ideals,” she explains. As a result, opinions polarize and debates radicalize.

This corresponds to descriptions made by Jean, who seems resigned: “When I realized it was going downhill 10 years ago, I felt it was recoverable. Today, it’s completely out of my personal reach. It’s no longer up to us as individuals. There’s nothing to do, not even on a collective scale.”

Biases of our brain against algorithms So, how do we protect ourselves from this news cycle? First, we need to understand how our brain works and how these anxieties arise. While people with anxious temperaments are a bit more prone to it, anyone can be affected: “We have a way of consuming news that increases our anxiety. We are immersed in an environment where anxiety is constant.”

According to the psychologist, our brain works by identifying threats to increase survival chances. By consuming and accumulating negative information, “we feel like we are better managing this chaos,” she explains. But the effect is the opposite: “As we are reduced to helplessness, after a while, anxiety increases.”

Moreover, social media algorithms amplify this phenomenon. Negative content generates more engagement, so algorithms give more visibility to bad news. And, in her own words, it is “not easy to protect oneself from it.”

How to protect yourself? In general, Evelyne Josse advises to limit exposure to news by implementing “media diets,” defining “two maximum information slots per day,” or complete 24-hour detoxes, or even longer. Disabling notifications from news apps and autoplay features – videos that play automatically on apps to avoid being confronted with distressing images – is also recommended.

Above all, she recommends avoiding getting information from social media and opting for reliable sources with analysis. Faced with a sense of helplessness, Evelyne Josse lists “concrete actions at our level” that we can take: signing petitions, donating money to associations, participating in local initiatives.

As for Jean, he admits to protecting himself with a mental barrier.

“I dive into my work. I can’t help but think about it, but I maintain a distance from the information because I don’t look at the news all the time.” – Jean

What about concrete actions? The young man has taken some in order to protect himself. Following Donald Trump’s threats of annexing Greenland, he changed his online storage service, as the one he used was American, to a Swiss service. A move he had made a long time ago for his emails. “My data is too precious,” justifies Jean, who confesses to having looked at “a few things” about survivalism. But he’s not there yet.

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