Ukrainian journalist Konstantin Ryzhenko has just escaped from the Russian-occupied Kherson region, where he hides for fear of being caught, changing his houses and phones. He is a known figure and was targeted by the invader. Despite being out of the yoke, Ryzhenko now suffers from an anxiety disorder. “I just had another panic attack after meeting with the soldiers [ucranianos] afternoon. I’m afraid of their future for me,” she just wrote on her Facebook account. “I’m afraid of falling again.” A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that causes severe physical reactions.
In the face of the horrors of the ongoing all-out war (tens of thousands dead, including several hundred children), mental health problems may seem secondary. NGOs helping the country see the situation differently and dedicating resources to helping people in need. endure days of bombing in a dark bunkerTo the soldiers who saw a colleague die, to those who lost a family member in the bombings, and to those who didn’t have time to grieve or help in the process… Or to those who killed an enemy soldier and couldn’t stand it.
“Taking someone else’s life is so traumatic. We are talking to fighters who fatally shot an invading army,” he explains to the Ukrainian group Prensa Ibérica and to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, a newspaper belonging to this media, Paul Nilandis the founder of LifelineUkraine, a suicide prevention hotline that handles an average of 1,000 calls per month. “Another type of emotional trauma is ‘survivor guilt’ when a soldier loses a partner and wonders why he is still alive.
Other volunteers with military experience serve them to gain the caller’s trust. you try to get themto a safe mental placewhere suicidal thoughts decrease” and are directed to resources where they can find solutions to their emotional problems.
His organization is de facto the only one of its kind in the besieged country. There are psychologists in the military, but “solutions” aren’t always enough for soldiers with problems like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), for example. “Those embedded in army battalions do not always help. In some cases, they simply advise to pray.”, journalist Olga Tokariuk tells this newspaper from Ukraine.
The country has relief programs for children and soldiers, but nothing generalized for the rest of the war-torn population. And it is needed. “I see requests from friends seeking free psychological help”, says Tokariuk. Psychological therapy is private and very expensive. And amid the recession caused by the war, there is less and less of the middle class that can afford such healthcare.
There is also the issue of social taboos. “It’s not culturally welcome for men to express their feelings. or cry”, underlines the Ukrainian journalist.
Support the besieged population
organizations such as Doctors of the World They have been struggling for months to provide psychosocial care services in cities such as Kyiv, Kharkov and Chernivtsi, which have been heavily affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Its purpose is focused on supporting the displaced, refugee or besieged population. Treating their emotions prevents serious consequences that may mark their lives, humanitarian organization.
Ricardo Ankaramental health coordinator in Ukraine Doctors of the World and EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, who was aware of the situation in the country he traveled to many times. “high pain” Psychologically, the lives of displaced persons in border areas or near battle lines after six months of war. “psychological discomfort increases over time. At first there was hope of returning home, but that hope is crumbling and bankruptcy occurs“.
“Group interventions to strengthen community resilience” are carried out in shelters.
After half a year of conflictThe situation is changing, Angora points out, because helplessness is “constant stress for those outside of their usual range; it’s cumulative stress,” says an expert at Doctors of the World. “All those people who is in reception centersThey stayed in neighboring provinces with the illusion that they could return. They thought the conflict would be resolved sooner, but that didn’t happen and it affects them more,” he explains.
What kind of mental health care is done in the country? Angora sets different intervention points: in reception centers of border regions –like donbas– group interventions are made “to strengthen”. Durability “It motivates them to stay active, to live a life that is as adaptive as possible to the difficult situation they find themselves in,” he adds. have also experienced trauma, witnessed violent situations, or duel personalized interventions.
When this discomfort does not go away, and leads to a disorder, it is the experts themselves who intervene. This is where the biggest challenges arise. Angora explains that mental health is not integrated into the first level of the Ukrainian public health system, with multidisciplinary teams and through Primary Care as in Spain. part of the second levelspecial care by psychiatrists in hospitals.. There are very few psychologists, he says.
Depression, aggression, fear…
What do they find most? NGO specialist eg depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and complex duels. Also increases in suicide or behavioral changes in adolescents. More fear and anxiety in children, as well as physiological changes how to wet the bed again. Also, more introspection: less willingness to play and interact with friends.
Psychologists insist fathers, mothers and caregivers It provides spaces for minors to express their anger, sadness and disappointment in the family environment. Parents or caregivers, naturally in this case, also cite from Doctors of the World. they are emotionally affected. Sometimes, they explain from an NGO that adults focus on the most basic: sleep, eat, survive… and forget the importance of presenting the need to your children to express their fears.
In the case of youthmany have witnessed murder, violence, crime and death in their environment, which has led them to nurture their lust. anger and frustration If left untreated, it can affect their relationships with their environment in the future.
No mental health care
“in organizations such as Doctors of the World We accept that the system does not cover it,” adds the psychiatrist, who voluntarily devoted his life to caring for those who were driven out of their homes due to the war. The organization has appointed psychologists in the cities. What KyivKharkiv or Chernivtsi. In the last six months, more than 5,400 consultations, both individual and group and online consultation, have taken place. Also, the business started A first aid hotline in the country.
Therapies are offered in Ukraine, for example, in temporary bomb shelterswhere people take shelter from attacks or warnings. They are usually basements of universities and residences. student or cultural centers where those who have lost their homes still live. Although most of the patients are women -76%-, men benefit most from mental health and psychosocial support services.
Doctors of the World also highlights the problem of cultural stigma when it comes to expressing emotions. Mental health is a taboo subject, especially in rural areas. “It’s getting more acceptance in cities. So part of our work is to do a lot of pedagogy with programs so that people can express their problems and access to health to be treated“, concludes the expert of the organization.