Peace Begins Within: Why Mental Health Must Be Central to Peacebuilding in Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean

by Chaneil ImhoffLast year, I sat in rooms in South Korea with peacebuilders, journalists, policymakers, and civil society leaders from across the world at the HWPL World Peace Summit. The conversations were expansive. They covered ceasefires, international law, interfaith dialogue, education, and the architecture of global peace. Yet beneath the formal language and institutional frameworks, a quieter pattern emerged. Across regions and contexts, many of the conflicts discussed were rooted not only in political disagreement or resource scarcity, but in unresolved human distress.

Delegates spoke of polarization, radicalization, youth disengagement, violence, and social fragmentation. Less frequently did the conversation return to the psychological conditions shaping those outcomes. The emotional toll of inequality, displacement, historical trauma, and chronic stress often sat just beneath the surface of policy language, acknowledged implicitly but rarely addressed directly.

Returning to Antigua and Barbuda from that global space, the contrast was striking. Ours is a small state often described as peaceful by international standards. We do not experience war. Our institutions are largely stable. Yet many of the same underlying pressures discussed at the summit are present here, expressed through anxiety, substance misuse, interpersonal conflict, and rising concern about youth mental health. The scale differs, but the dynamics are familiar.

It is from that perspective that this article is written. Peacebuilding, whether global or local, cannot be sustained if it ignores the inner conditions that shape how individuals and communities respond to stress, disagreement, and change. Mental health is not adjacent to peace. It is one of its quiet foundations.

In Antigua and Barbuda, peace is often described in terms of stability. The absence of armed conflict, relatively low levels of violent crime, and steady democratic governance are frequently cited as indicators of a peaceful society. Yet peace, when examined more closely, is not sustained by external calm alone. It depends on the psychological wellbeing of citizens, the ability to manage conflict constructively, and the presence of systems that support people through stress, loss, and uncertainty.

Across the Caribbean, mental health has traditionally been treated as a private matter rather than a public concern. This framing has limited the region’s ability to address emotional distress at scale. Without acknowledging how mental health shapes behaviour, relationships, and social cohesion, discussions of peace remain incomplete.

Mental health and the capacity for social stability
Mental health influences how individuals process threats, regulate emotions, and interact with others. At the population level, widespread psychological distress weakens resilience and increases reactivity within communities.

In Antigua and Barbuda, mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, along with self harm, account for approximately 18 percent of total disability adjusted life years and 33 percent of all years lived with disability. These estimates, reported by the Pan American Health Organization, place mental health among the leading contributors to long term impairment in the country.¹

The burden is particularly significant among people aged 10 to 40 years, a period associated with education, employment, family formation, and civic participation. When emotional distress is concentrated within this group, the effects extend beyond individual wellbeing to productivity, family stability, and social trust.

Youth mental health as an indicator of future peace
Adolescent mental health data in Antigua and Barbuda signals cause for concern. Findings from the Global School based Student Health Survey indicate that nearly 17 percent of students aged 13 to 15 seriously considered attempting suicide in the previous twelve months, while approximately 12 percent reported having attempted suicide during that same period.

Such levels of distress among young people point to environments where many do not feel adequately supported or hopeful. These experiences shape how young people transition into adulthood and influence how future generations relate to authority, resolve conflict, and engage with society. Youth mental health, therefore, is not a marginal issue but a central determinant of long term peace.

Cultural silence and displaced distress
Caribbean societies have long valued strength and endurance. While these qualities have supported survival through colonialism, economic shocks, and natural disasters, they have also contributed to silence around emotional suffering. Psychological pain is often minimized, hidden, or reframed as a personal failing rather than a shared responsibility.

This silence does not remove distress. It redirects it. Emotional pain frequently emerges as interpersonal conflict, domestic violence, substance misuse, school disruption, and self harm. Over time, these outcomes erode trust in institutions and weaken the social bonds that support peaceful coexistence.

Shared roots of violence and self harm
Public health research consistently demonstrates that interpersonal violence, harmful alcohol use, and suicide often share common underlying conditions. These include unresolved trauma, social isolation, economic stress, and limited access to mental health care.

In the Caribbean, alcohol misuse remains a significant contributor to injury, violence, and health related harm. Addressing substance use through regulation, education, and treatment is therefore not only a health intervention but a peacebuilding strategy.

Approaches that focus solely on enforcement or punishment fail to address these underlying drivers and limit the effectiveness of violence prevention efforts.

Institutional capacity and mental health governance
Antigua and Barbuda’s National Mental Health Policy recognizes the importance of integrating mental health services into primary care and community settings. However, implementation challenges persist, including limited specialist capacity, service gaps, and reliance on outdated legislative frameworks.

Strong institutions are essential to peace. When mental health systems are under-resourced or outdated, individuals are left without adequate support, increasing reliance on informal or harmful coping mechanisms. Modernizing mental health legislation and strengthening community based services are therefore essential to building social stability.

Recent collaboration between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Pan American Health Organization has emphasized mental health reform, community based care, and integration across sectors as national priorities.

Peace journalism and the obligation to address root causes
HWPL’s peace framework emphasizes addressing the root causes of conflict rather than reacting only to visible outcomes. In the Caribbean context, untreated psychological distress is one such root cause.

Peace journalism must therefore move beyond surface narratives of calm or crisis. It must contextualize violence, self harm, and social disruption within broader social and institutional conditions. Responsible reporting avoids sensationalism while highlighting prevention, access to care, and policy solutions.

By framing mental health as a peace issue rather than an individual weakness, peace journalism contributes to a more honest and constructive public discourse.

Toward a peace that endures
Peace in Antigua and Barbuda and across the Caribbean must be understood as a living condition shaped by everyday human experience. It is sustained by emotionally supported individuals, responsive institutions, and societies that recognize mental wellbeing as a public good.

When mental health is neglected, peace remains fragile. When it is addressed openly and systematically, peace gains the foundation it needs to endure.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]