How many Ukrainians suffer from stress disorders — a shocking number from a doctor

 Air raid sirens, sounds of rockets and drones, explosions, and gunfire — for three years, Ukrainians have gotten used to live with this. Some take calming medications, while others have found more effective methods for themselves. But in any case, this will not pass without leaving a mark on our bodies. Is it possible to protect oneself, and how deeply has the war shaken the psyche of every Ukrainian?

Novyny.LIVE journalists talked to Serhii Kalynchuk, the Head of the Mental Health Clinic, about the issue.

— How do you assess the current psychological state of Ukrainians?

— First, we need to understand that psychological and psychiatric disorders are different things. Because sometimes people confuse them. A mental health disorder is a neurotic disorder, while psychiatric disorders are a more severe pathology. And we are now talking about mental conditions that are characterized by anxiety, emotional burnout, apathy, symptoms of sleep disorders, eating disorders. Expectation of something bad happening suddenly when a person leaves, even though everything appears to be fine.

These are the states of anxiety in which almost all of our fellow citizens find themselves, because of course war is always a crisis. And it is characterized by two main features: uncertainty, when we do not understand what will happen tomorrow, in a month or two. And the second is the loss of control over security. We are in a situation of danger. Naturally, we must recognize that different segments of the population will have varying attitudes toward these circumstances. Furthermore, depending on their specific situations, different groups assess the pressure of uncertainty and the fear of insecurity — for themselves, their families, and their loved ones — differently.

— How many people will need the help of a specialist?

— When we talk about civilians, that's one thing. When we talk about those who are currently defending us, that's something else entirely, because they are in danger every minute. And when we talk about those who were in occupied territories, that’s a completely different story. All of these groups require separate study and specific assistance programs. Unfortunately, we can say that this affects the majority of Ukrainians.

Moreover, the UN representative in Ukraine said back in the summer of 2023 that about 10 million of our fellow citizens are already in a state of chronic stress. Some of them have already suffered from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. And by the end of 2025, there will be about 25 million such patients, according to the forecast. And it will take at least 20 years for us as citizens to undergo the rehabilitation.

— How do mental disorders affect people's ability to work?

— Mental disorders lead to a loss of personal effectiveness because a person is in a state of anxiety. According to estimates by the Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine, due to such conditions, we are projected to lose approximately 4-5% of the country’s GDP, simply because people are in an ineffective state. This is a massive problem. Therefore, the programs that have already been created by the state, as well as those now being implemented at the primary care level in the healthcare system, are absolutely necessary. On one hand, the state is creating certain tools to combat this issue, but on the other hand, we must understand that society needs to respond as well. The phrase "I know my thoughts better, I can deal with my problems on my own" unfortunately leads to us sinking deeper into our problems.

And let's face it: we are at war today with an aggressor that is no different in its cruelty from the aggressor of World War II, Nazi Germany. But when we talk about the state of society during the Second World War, when almost everyone had their own personal memories of the First World War, and compare it with the state of our society, which understands that such history cannot happen in the twenty-first century, it certainly creates a paradox. We all saw the war through movies, but we had no personal memory of it. Therefore, such events will cause psychological imbalances. 

— Will we have enough specialists to help everyone who needs it? 

— I am confident that we have enough specialists. Moreover, the training currently being provided for medical professionals, nurses, and primary care doctors, who are the first to take on these patients, is sufficient. The key is for the state to create tools to reduce the negative impacts on the nation. The other question is how ready society is to accept these tools and to acknowledge its own problems. For example, asking oneself: why am I not sleeping well, where does my eating disorder come from? It’s not just about feeling pain and then hearing from every doctor — whether a therapist, urologist, or cardiologist — that there is no pathology. Eventually, the person is advised to see a mental health specialist, but they don’t go because it requires discussing their thoughts. These societal dogmas do more harm than the potential shortage of specialists we might face.

— Should there be more government programs for the prevention of mental health issues among Ukrainians?

— As far as I know, there is a very strong program to support the families of veterans. But we have to understand that besides them, there are their families. And when they communicate today, the feelings that the family has every evening or every morning when you open the phone and check if you have received a message, if you are in touch or not, also have a very strong impact on the health of the family and the close environment. And even a change in the mode of communication can lead to certain stressful situations. Therefore, these programs, which are created on the basis of both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, are quite serious and effective. But we will see their quality implementation when they are fully operational.

— How does constant stress and danger affect children's psyche?

— In any case, the child will be primarily guided by the behavior of the adult. If the adult starts to panic, the child realizes that he or she is in danger. Depending on where the child is, what region they live in, what city they live in, you need to talk to them. Children need to be told about everything that is happening as close to reality as possible. They should not be fed illusions. When we create an illusion in a child's head, we believe that we can save his or her psyche, but on the contrary, it can lead to cognitive problems in the future. Therefore, at a young age, a child does not experience the emotional stress that an adult does.

A child can already compare, visualize the fear, which then begins to take hold. We understand that a child of three, five, or seven years old is in the process of forming their way of thinking. And when they are in a state of constant danger, which they perceive from the surrounding adults, this way of thinking will affect their lives in 10, 15, or 20 years. The most important thing is always to talk to children.

— When can Ukrainian society be completely mentally healthy?

— We need to understand what health is. If we take it as a concept of the World Health Organization, it says that health is a human condition that corresponds to a normal physical, socio-economic, mental and environmental state of life. Moreover, the health care system has only a 10-12% impact on the health of the nation. Back in the summer of 2022, about six months after the start of the full-scale invasion, the Minister of Health said that during this time our nation has aged by 10 years. This means that the diseases that were most common in people aged 65-67 began to appear very often in patients aged 50-55.

We will only be able to talk about the impact of the war on the nation's health in a few years after the war is over. Today we realize that we need to hold on, we need to take care of our health and our loved ones, because the war is still going on. We do not know how long it will last. But we know one thing: we have to support each other in order to defeat our enemy!

As a reminder, the investigation of the case against the 44-year-old head of a department of the Odesa Psychiatric Hospital and his 66-year-old father, a resident physician, has been completed in Odesa. The defendants "diagnosed" conscripts with mental illnesses for bribes, which could have exempted them of military service. 

We also wrote that Kamala Harris, a presidential candidate in the United States of America, presented a medical report declaring her healthy and fit to hold high office. This was after Donald Trump refused to show such a certificate.