Today, it is very important to understand what PTSD is and how to help people with such disorders, and most importantly, to interact with them.
“The door slams and I’m back there again. Shelling, explosions, the ground is shaking. I’m sitting in the kitchen, but my body is already in the trench. My hands are shaking, my heart is pounding… The same burning smell and sound is in the air… I clenched my fists so tightly that my palm hurt. Then I realized I was at home, I was not there. But my brain wouldn’t let go. My heart was beating as if I was running, and my legs felt like cotton wool.”
This is not hysteria. This is a flashback. This is PTSD.
Thousands of veterans, civilians, and doctors live like this every day. But this condition has a solution – professional help, support, therapy.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not weakness or “nerves”. It is a very real psychological trauma that can occur after participating in hostilities, experiencing captivity, shelling, loss of relatives, violence, or other critical events. And most importantly, PTSD can be treated – evidence-based, step-by-step, with real results.
What is PTSD and how to recognize it?
PTSD is a condition in which the brain cannot “switch” from survival mode even when the danger has already passed.
Signs that should be of concern:
- Repeated memories, flashbacks – when it seems that you are back where it happened, often during sleep or sudden triggers: a loud sound, smell of smoke, etc.);
- Panic attacks are sudden waves of anxiety that roll in for no apparent reason:
“The line at the supermarket suddenly became crowded and stuffy. Everyone seemed to want something, too many voices. I started to run out of air, my heart was pounding like before a fight. I thought I was going to faint. I went outside, sat on the curb, and couldn’t come to for about ten minutes…”
- Constant tension, irritability, anxiety, sleep disturbances;
- Avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma (people, places, situations);
- Feelings of guilt, hopelessness, or emotional disconnection.
- In civilians, PTSD often manifests itself after an accident, loss of loved ones, or experience of violence.
PTSD can develop weeks or even months after the event. It often masquerades as depression, anxiety disorder, or “normal exhaustion.”
What’s new, how is PTSD being dealt with in Ukraine?
- According to Oksana Sukhorukova, head of the Health Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, PTSD accounts for 29% of all stress-related neuralgic diseases among military personnel.
- PTSD: an online platform that provides free therapy (up to 10 sessions). It works for both military and civilians.
- Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP): a pilot program in Kyiv and Lviv demonstrates a reduction in symptoms in 70% of participants.
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE): Ukrainian military psychologists are trained in the United States and Israel.
- Intensive free residential treatment programs, multidisciplinary teams (psychologists, psychiatrists, coaches) in Ukraine and abroad.
- VR and AI programs, gaming technologies, augmented reality, and neurobiofeedback are being introduced to immerse patients in controlled scenarios with gradual adaptation to triggers.
- The legalization of medical cannabis gives hope for its use in the treatment of PTSD, but the mechanism of action is still being implemented.
Modern PTSD treatment: what really works
- Psychotherapy – Several types of trauma-focused (or talking) therapy are recommended. “Trauma-focused” means that the therapy focuses on your memories of the traumatic event or what it means to you. It lasts from 8 to 16 sessions.
Trauma-focused talk therapies that are most helpful for PTSD:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) teaches you how to change the disturbing thoughts and feelings you experience after a trauma.
- Prolonged Exposure (PE) teaches you to gradually approach the memories, feelings, and situations associated with the trauma that were avoided after the trauma.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps to process and comprehend trauma by focusing on movements or sounds (e.g., waving a finger from side to side).
- Written Exposure Therapy (WET) helps you find new ways of thinking about trauma and its meaning through writing assignments that you complete during sessions. It is a short therapy consisting of 5 sessions.
- Cognitive therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD) helps you learn to change your thoughts about the trauma. You will return to memories of the trauma to understand the meaning of what happened and change negative thoughts.
- Medications:
- Antidepressants (SSRIs – for example, Sertraline, Paroxetine);
- New approaches: MDMA, Ketamine, Cannabinoids – under controlled conditions;
- Benzodiazepines (for anxiety or sleep disorders).
- Support groups and rehabilitation programs are critical for returning to society.
What to do if you have symptoms of PTSD?
Do not ignore it. PTSD does not go away on its own – it only gets worse.
Seek help: from a military psychologist, family doctor, or an online therapy platform.
Do not wait for the “best moment”. The sooner you start, the better your chances of recovery.
Tell your family – family support is crucial.
PTSD is not a sentence. It is an experience that leaves a mark, but does not define you. With professional help, family support, and self-belief, the path to a peaceful life is possible.
Where to go?
Mental Health for Ukraine (MH4U)
Support for the development of mental health services based on multidisciplinary teams.
Veteran Hub
Psychological, career, and social assistance to veterans.
Team: psychotherapists, psychiatrists, trainers, lawyers.
UNBROKEN
National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv.
Teams of doctors, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, and prosthetists.
Superhumans Center
Center for Prosthetics, Reconstructive Surgery and Psychosocial Rehabilitation.
The team includes doctors, psychologists, physical therapists, and trainers.
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