Shopkeeper Alaa Fakih lies awake at night scared that another catastrophe could strike Lebanon.

Like many she is traumatized by the past - from the 1975-1990 civil war to a devastating Beirut port blast in 2020 and an enduring economic collapse - and fearful of the future.

“I shouldn’t be thinking about all these things - I’m thinking how to continue my daughter’s education and if, for example, I was walking and God forbids, an explosion happens,” said Fakih, 33, whose heart beats rapidly at night as she shivers.

“How to walk and not have an explosion. All these have a negative effect on my psychological well-being.”