PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN UKRAINE

• When war happens between two countries, violence scars even non-combatant civilians.
• Violence in war causes emotional scars not only among children, but also adults and senior citizens.
• War causes disruptions in daily life as well as psychological breakdowns over the sight of friends and families getting injured.
• Western countries believe that their methods of dealing with psychological trauma are universal.
• There are factors that can enable people of all age-groups to survive in adverse circumstances.
• All cultures have coping strategies and factors to overcome adversities.

When a war happens, the violence and warfare are not always limited to battlefield. Many times, war extends to cities and hurts non-combatant civilians, bringing lifelong traumas for them. Wartime situation makes people witness horrible tragedies including mass-level murders and rapes.

Emotional suffering caused by war is caused not only due to direct exposure to life-threatening situations and violence but also due to indirect factors such as injury to or death of relatives or caregivers. Economic hardships hurt financial well-being of civilians, causing them mental agony and despair. Sorrow of losing home due to geographic displacement causes melancholy and hopelessness that hurt the mental well-being or emotional well-being of citizens. Continuous disruptions of daily life and uncertainty about future makes citizens fear for the future of their children. Witnessing the violence scars the psyche of children more than it scars the adult minds. Even senior citizens suffer heart attacks or psychological breakdowns when they see their young children or caregivers dying or getting injured in the war.

Developed countries of the West carry an assumption about the Western ideas of psychological trauma, therapy, and healing being universal. Time and again, it has been seen that Western models of mental health, medical aid, and technical solutions, meant to provide psychological aid to distressed populations in developing countries, surpass the preexisting coping strategies in those countries which may or may not be cultural and religious in nature.

Usually, there are two types one people. One, people who succumb to environmental threats or obstacles that are may cause mental agony or emotional distress in their lives the moment they are faced with it. Two, people overcome existing threats by becoming resilient. Various studies affirm that certain protective factors can help children, as well as adults, survive and thrive in the adverse circumstances. Such factors include positive relationships and a strong biological disposition.

These results create the need for research on some theories regarding the identification of factors that determine the development of psychological resilience in children who witnessed and survived war. During research, children would need to be differentiated on the basis of their involvement and proximity to war activities. Research is also required on various resilience building approaches of different communities and cultures, in order to observe as well as understand that in the aftermath of war and destruction, how do these approaches affect psychological healing of children and adults.

Wars are certain to cause emotional distress. Additional empirical studies focusing on healing, promoting resilience, and incorporating cultural capacity builders are necessary to provide appropriate as well as effective mental health services to future victims of war.

If you have witnessed a war or mass-level communal violence, you should not keep your emotional scars to you and let them simmer to cause lugubriosity. Overcome those scars effectively by meeting psychologists working with HelloDr. Your mental peace a life with positive frame of mind is our goal.