Ukraine, military psychologist: “Soldiers in acute stress, see comrades bodies burned indelible shock”

“The diagnosis for most Ukrainian servicemen engaged in the war right now? Undoubtedly that of ‘acute stress’. Soldiers who see how their comrades are burned or snatched from life in an instant by heavy weapons, or grenades that carbonize the bodies, receive an indelible impulse on their psyche “. This was stated, in an interview with Adnkronos, by the Ukrainian military psychologist Olena Nahorna, who speaks from a secret place on the front line (“I cannot reveal where I am but it is a military target”, she explains) . Olena, blue eyes and good, reassuring face, great calm, says: “What differentiates their pathology from other situations of stress, fear or anxiety, is the high intensity of the situation they find themselves living in. Here the soldiers find themselves daily in contact with explosions from heavy weapons, grenades, bombs that burn all around “. From a professional point of view, “it is not yet a question of post-traumatic syndrome, which can only be diagnosed after six months, while the large-scale war has lasted for less time – he observes – Although psychologists have an open discussion about time and we are elaborating new protocols. Given the intensity of the war actions and the continuous missile attacks, and the atrocity of seeing all that evil with one’s own eyes, I would not be surprised if the protocols were changed and the diagnosis time was reduced by six to three months “. The psychologist, who reiterates that” the war here began eight years ago “, rattles off some data:” According to our research, before February 24 suffered from PTSD from 15 to 18% of soldiers, but there were not so many victims and such violent scenes caused by heavy weapons. Unfortunately, now we do not have statistics, given the tight deadlines, but certainly the number has risen a lot “. The day flies away intense: “I have no timetables -says the soldier almost smiling- In the morning we receive the orders, and I take care of improving the resistance to stress and giving support to the soldiers during the execution of the directives”. There are many topics in talks with the soldiers, but the moral problem of killing does not exist. “The fear of having to kill, the relationship with weapons, is not a problem for our soldiers – explains the expert – Because ours is not an aggressive response, we do it for defense, consequently there is no problem moral of having to kill, because no one does it to attack, it is a question of defending one’s family and one’s country “. Rather, what is gripping the soldiers are “existential questions, questions that arise precisely from the war. They ask themselves why, what is the point, what is the point of dying like this. The lack of answers on why can worsen the post-traumatic syndrome”. major problems of post-traumatic stress is “the inability to accept the new self – is Nahorna’s analysis – War changes people. And here, I work on the fact that we may discover our potential and survival skills. . At this moment we are talking not only about having to face the consequences of the war on the military and family members, but also about the prospects for personal growth “. In addition to the military, there are many other categories in need of support. “Those of civilian volunteers, those of ordinary citizens, and those of military family members,” says Olena. He explains: “In general the situation is serious and complicated, because we can say that the whole population of Ukraine can identify itself in one of the categories and therefore the whole country needs psychological support”. The most difficult group “is that of family members. of missing persons – says the psychologist – Recently, the data by the commissioner for missing persons has been released according to which 7,200 soldiers are missing, of which a part is detained in Russia. Western European psychology has never had to report with such a high number of missing people, and it is very difficult to work with these families. We use European protocols, but they only work in part. We can say one thing: Ukrainian psychologists are also at the front from the point of view of the new psychological frontiers, having to interface with situations never experienced “. (by Ilaria Floris)