OPINION: War and the Psyche

Since the end of last year, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, has been awaiting discussion of a bill to regulate “esoteric services” which include mainstream activities, such as yoga classes, but also includes things like astrology, numerology, and tarot reading.

The bill provides for the creation of educational courses for such professions and the regulation of the selection and training of teachers who will undergo teaching practice as part of their professional accreditation.

This development will require a new category within professional classification so that service providers can register as private entrepreneurs and pay taxes.

The author of the bill, a deputy from the Servant of the People party, Serhiy Hrivko, believes that if properly regulated these professions will generate about Hr. 100 million ($2.4 million) in taxes – enough to buy one Abrams tank or four missiles for the HIMARS system.

It may seem a strange time to raise such a bill during wartime, but recently Ukrainian social media has been rocked by a story that makes this kind of legislation entirely relevant.

It concerns a woman who calls herself “The Mother of God” and who purports to have special powers that, among other things, enable her to keep wounded soldiers alive.

Her real name is Anna (or Hanna) Fesun and activists who help the families of dead or missing soldiers sought legal advice to stop her exploiting soldiers’ families who pay for her “services.” However, no legal action can be taken against this woman without a formal complaint from her victims. It seems, however, that the relatives of wounded or missing soldiers who have turned to Fesun for help do not see themselves as victims, indeed, they actively defend her

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The Ukrainian military regularly reports that Russian forces are resorting to ‘meat assaults,’ sending wounded or poorly trained fighters into battle as cannon fodder.

In such a situation, the regulation of “esoteric services” becomes an urgent matter as does the protection of the nation’s mental health in general.

In February of this year, the Ministry of Health adopted a new, expanded list of free psychological and psychiatric services. They now include disorders caused by military action, forced relocation, and the death or injury of a loved one. However, people who find themselves in a desperate situation rarely turn to psychologists or psychiatrists, but look elsewhere preferring to believe in miracles.  

Over the last two and half years, Ukrainian citizens have faced enormous stress and tragedy on a daily basis. They have become accustomed to sharing bad news on their social media pages – fertile ground for the seeds of depression.

Of course, the main root of our bad news is the war. Russia knows how to feed depression and how to use it as a weapon. Russian soldiers regularly shoot Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered. They then post videos of the murders on Telegram and Facebook. Ukrainians, shocked by such videos, repost them on social media spreading the horror and the pain it engenders even further.

The Russian army’s capture of the city of Vuhledar in the Donbas has been a massive blow to the psyche of Ukrainians. But equally shocking was the highly publicized story of the suicide of the battalion commander of the 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Ihor Hryb, who defended Vuhledar.

The precise reason for his tragic death remains unclear. The Ministry of Defense has launched an investigation. However, few believe that it will be sufficiently thorough or that the findings will be made public. The truth may come out only after the war.

Mental stress among Ukrainian soldiers on the front line is much more destructive to the individual than the problems faced by civilians.

According to military staffing rules, each battalion – between 400 and 800 soldiers – should have one officer-psychologist. This person should monitor the relationships between soldiers, help avoid conflicts, and provide psychological assistance, especially immediately after military action.

Even if an officer-psychologist is able to monitor an entire battalion, they must also take part in military action and can also suffer from combat distress and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). This makes it impossible to say that there is effective psychological support for the military in combat zones.

For civilians, the best cure for depression is simply good news from the front. The capture of part of Russia’s Kursk region provided a dose of positivity, but that pill is no longer efficacious. 

Hopes are now being pinned on President Zelensky’s recently announced “victory plan” which needs to be a realistic road map to peace, rather than a temporary cure for depression in Ukrainian society.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.