Weltschau

War is the worst thing that can happen in the civilized world. War is fear, pain, and despair. For more than two years, Ukrainians have been living with a constant feeling of fear.  It’s amplified by the sounds of air raids, explosions, shelling, and artillery salvos.  This activates the response to survival in the difficult conditions of wartime. The results of research by scientists at the medical school in Jerusalem show that during war, the reaction of the human psyche is different: from moderate and temporary stress to severe mental injuries that have negative consequences for health, including depression, abuse of psychotropic substances, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

     Most of the people who survived the war gradually adapt to the new reality, recover, and some in response to stressful circumstances and events feel uplifted, as if they have a “second breath”. The impact of war on the human psyche increases the degree of understanding of the value of life. I was convinced of this by my own experience, when I survived the occupation of the territory of the Kyiv region by the Russian military. In our life before the war, we had physical, emotional, and cognitive fatigue.  However, we knew we had to rest and we would recover.  But, unfortunately, no one can rest from war, it continues.

     In order to reduce the impact of war on the psycho-emotional state, it is important to monitor one’s own well-being and mental balance. To improve your emotional health, you need to find time for motor activities (charging, jogging, swimming, etc.), engage in things that bring pleasure (hobbies). Also, hobbies help to avoid burnout; the main thing in this process is to learn to restore strength and recharge with energy. Sometimes it is enough to just sleep or read a good book, completely distancing yourself from the disturbing events of the war. Despite the sadness and feeling of emptiness, it is worth saying everything that hurts, trying to communicate more with people, because closing in on yourself has negative consequences for the body. You can write. Sometimes a silent text can say more than any words. 

     In the preface to the book “On the Western Front Without Changes”, Erich Maria Remarque wrote: “This is only an attempt to tell about the generation that was devastated by the war, about those who became its victims, although they escaped it.” The most important problem described by the author in the novel is the problem of psychological trauma, because the experience of war significantly affects a person’s mental state and radically changes his worldview.

     That is why today it’s so important to support each other, help others, and remember that in difficult wartime there are no strangers among Ukrainians. We are strong when united. And now we understand more than ever that we are one big family. Therefore, it’s necessary to understand that the level of psychological balance of society as a whole depends on the psychological balance of everyone.

Angelina Korchemna

Angelina Korchemna is a first-year master’s student at the Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology and Journalism of the Taurida National University named after V.  I. Vernadsky.