Psychological Self-Help in Conditions of Bombing of Ukraine

Abstract

The article highlights common and distinctive features of situations of restrictions for children and adults, threats and dangers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war of Russia against the United States of America and other Western countries on the territory of Ukraine. It was noted that the epidemic and the war have a lot in common, although they differ in the nature of the threat. First, both epidemic and war threaten life, and secondly, in both cases, people's lifestyles are changed to escape threats and dangers, forcing them to stay in shelters, bomb shelters, or to evacuate to other areas. As a result, anxiety states, depression, traumatic and post-traumatic manifestations became epidemic. Russian missile attacks on residential buildings in Ukrainian cities pose mental health risks for those residents who survived. Both in Ukraine and in other countries, this necessitates the development, practical testing and application of psychological self-help methods for children and adults in long-term or acute situations of restrictions caused by the pandemic and the Russian war against the collective West in Europe. Methods of teaching children through adult’s methods and techniques of psychological self-help, which is the basis of prevention of acute stress reactions to the traumatic factors of the Russian war against Ukraine, are revealed. It has been confirmed that in the conditions of war, children grow up quickly, and images of real situations of possible dangers become important stimulus material for modeling versions of future behavior for the sake of saving life. In this regard, children need psychological help in developing the ability to self-regulate in unexpected and threatening situations, in expressing their emotions and understanding the emotions of other people, reducing tension and anxiety. It is stated that the realization of a child's basic need for security can overcome manifestations of distress, anxiety, fear, etc., and the formation of this security requires the necessary psychological training. The most important psychological content of these trainings is the formation of children's ability to psychological self-regulation, maintaining confidence in mutual support in conditions of space and communication limitations.