How The Ukraine Crisis Teaches Us About The Key To Mental WellBeing

The Physical Damage in Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to shock us all. The bystanders sit silently watching from our seats, as Ukrainians continue to suffer, refugees struggle to find and settle in new homes and international politicians and social workers try to help in their own ways. Putin’s wrath ensues. 

According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Russia’s invasion has inflicted infrastructural damage in Ukraine at a cost of $4.5 billion per week. More than 33.7 million square meters of residential buildings were damaged by the bombings and shootings. The attacks also led to more than 23,000 kilometers of road being damaged and 90,000 cars getting destroyed. 

As of the end of April 2022, nearly 3,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the invasion and attacks, and more than 3,200 injured.

The physical damage is brutal and sad - and the numbers don’t justify each human life suffering.

Along with this damage, what can’t be overlooked is the mental and emotional suffering that Ukrainians have been facing. The psychological effects of such a hard-hitting, seemingly-unending stretch of traumatic events for the common residents of Ukraine are clearly present.

The Mental Health Concerns in Ukraine

It’s important to note that Ukraine was actually considered a “priority country” by the World Health Organization when it came to Mental Health. Ukraine carried a high burden of mental illness, depression and alcohol usage amongst its adults and children.

With millions of Ukrainians having to flee from their homes and thousands killed, both the family structure and societal fabric of the nation were torn apart.

As a result, the negative impact on the nation’s mental health are indescribable. Culturally and emotionally, these bruises and stains last long. They are difficult and unimaginably strenuous to improve. 

“Their sense of identity has been stripped without any ability to prepare for it. This can cause depression and anxiety and make people feel lost,” states Andrew Kent, MD, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist who specializes in working with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Their entire world was turned upside down overnight.”

Not to underplay the significance of the physical toll and damage the nation has faced, but it is clear that the emotional and mental toll will be deeply gut-wrenching and a potentially-longer process to bring back to stable condition.

While this cannot be unanimously declared, we can all speak from experience of some trauma, small or big. Let’s take the example of a car accident where one may get bruised on their arms and get a minor concussion from the collision. 

It may be safe to say that those minor bruises and a concussion recovery can take weeks to months. But recovering mentally and emotionally from the accident can be indefinite. It’s a psychological game.

Being able to get behind a steering wheel again or feeling comfortable or not trying to replay the accident in one’s head - are all difficult things. And without being a psychologist, it is still safe to say - what are fears and psychological repercussions on how we act and move after even an accident could be deep and a difficult or strenuous process to recover from.

“It’s a grief reaction but it’s complicated by the sense that there is also fear for your own safety. It’s one thing to grieve when you lose someone to a natural cause but now you are also fearing for your other loved ones and for your home. It makes it a very complicated bereavement,” Dr. Kent explains.

Along with the present mental health concerns that the nation will be facing as a unified consciousness, it is clear that the future generations will also face the repercussions of this terrible moment in the country’s history. 

Empathy - The Key To Emotional Wellbeing

The current state of extreme confusion, disruption and directionless-ness build to this trauma. But this certainly will affect the way their future generations act and react to day to day life. Will they feel safe? Will they have a stable emotional state

“There will actually be physical changes to the brain of a child after trauma that effect impulse, anxiety, and emotional regulation. This gets passed onto the next generation in how these children will grow up and parent,” says Dr. Kent. “A lot of these children will struggle to have basic emotional needs met, by no fault of the family, because everyone is just trying to survive.”

Is it truly difficult for us to wrap our minds around the idea of trauma? Is suffering not something we all relate to, regardless of extent? Is the lack of a home, disruption from normalcy and distance from loved ones not a relatable saddening sentiment?

It certainly is. 

Mental Health Awareness Month is not merely a time to acknowledge the importance of taking care of our own minds and our emotional wellbeing. But it is also a moment to recognize the commonality amongst all human-beings: we all have minds.

We all have emotions. All of our minds are affected by struggles, small or big. We all do feel sorrow, suffering, pain, anger, hate, love, longing, and joy. 

And thus, when we are aware of not only our OWN minds but also each other’s there is room for empathy. We recognize a unifying, all-encompassing Human Consciousness. A human mind in which we care - truly care for each other.  

We recognize that mental health does matter. We realize that such atrocious scenarios like the Russian invasion in Ukraine deeply affect the mental health of a nation.

We can empathize. Why? Because however small or big, we have faced suffering. We know how that truly feels.

When we learn to empathize and understand such pain, mental health awareness gains a more unifying and impactful understanding.