Ukraine is facing an unprecedented crisis in mental health. According to experts, the number of people showing symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has increased several-fold since the start of the full-scale invasion. The scale of the problem is such that psychological and psychiatric assistance is now needed by approximately 10 million citizens of the country.

These figures were stated by Bohdan Bozhuk, General Director of the State Institution "Y.I. Kundiev Institute of Occupational Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine," in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. According to him, statistics confirm that the war has become a catalyst for a mass deterioration of the population's mental state.

Critical situation in medicine

Particular concern is caused by the situation of medical personnel working in frontline regions. Doctors and nurses, who daily face the consequences of hostilities and work with the wounded, are in the maximum risk zone. Experts estimate that about 80% of medical workers in these areas show signs of professional burnout.

Statistics collected during the first six months of the war look as follows:

  • 14% of medical workers demonstrated signs of PTSD.
  • Another 9% faced depression.

Specialists note a gender specificity: women demonstrate a higher level of psychological load, and symptoms of disorders are registered more frequently in them.

The mechanism of burnout in wartime conditions

Professional burnout has ceased to be a problem exclusively of "helping" professions. In wartime conditions, almost all spheres of activity involving "human-to-human" interaction have come under attack. However, doctors, psychologists, teachers, social workers, and rescuers remain the most vulnerable.

Bohdan Bozhuk explains that burnout is a consequence of chronic professional stress. New, extreme factors are superimposed on work: a decrease in the level of social protection and the need to constantly interrupt work processes due to air raid alarms. Going into shelters several times a day keeps a person in a state of constant tension, not allowing the nervous system to recover.

"If a person is not competent enough or, due to psychophysiological characteristics, cannot respond qualitatively to a professional challenge — they quickly exhaust themselves. Working to exhaustion intensifies the stress response, which increases the risk of developing acute and chronic disorders," the expert stated.

Physiology of stress and health risks

Even those professionally prepared for danger are not insured against consequences. For example, SES employees (rescuers), like military personnel, undergo training that mitigates the stress response. However, acute stress inevitably provokes a imbalance of the autonomic nervous system and a powerful hormonal release.

This leads not only to mental disorders but also to somatic diseases. The expert emphasizes that no courses or trainings can completely neutralize the impact of such a level of stress on the body.

Energy workers: working without insurance

A special risk category consists of energy workers operating under conditions of constant attacks on infrastructure. According to Bozhuk, they are in an even more difficult position than rescuers. Workers in the energy sector often lack comprehensive programs for learning stress control and mastering quick switching techniques. As a result, they work under conditions of increased risk to their health, lacking the necessary tools to protect their psyche.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 50% of Ukrainians claim to have one or another problem with mental health. Before the war, these indicators were several times lower. Today, Ukraine is forced to seek new strategies for preserving the nation's work capacity under conditions of continuing war.