During the war, the number of patients with anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances has increased, with women seeking help more often than men. Psychiatrist Liudmyla Pidkuimukha says that the cases of loss of loved ones and the disappearance of soldiers are particularly difficult to treat, as the uncertainty keeps relatives in a state of limbo for years. The war has shifted people’s values from material to basic needs: simply sleeping in safety, being close to loved ones, having a roof over their heads. To overcome trauma, it is important to go through all stages of grief, rather than getting stuck at the stage of denial, and not to be ashamed to ask for help from loved ones and professionals.

Liudmyla also shared stories of her patients and her own experience, when she had to hide with her two children in the basement during missile strikes, and how she and her family personally experienced the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in Ternopil.