Almost 80% of Ukrainians feel stressed and extremely nervous – survey

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A total of 77% of Ukrainians have reported feeling stressed and extremely nervous recently, and 52% reported feeling anxious and tense.

These are the results of a survey conducted by Gradus Research as part of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme.

47% of the respondents said their mood and sleep have worsened, while 42% said they felt irritated and angry.

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Ukrainians also report experiencing:

• fatigue – 39% of respondents;
• emotional instability (32%);
• lack of spiritual harmony (30%);
• apathy and obsessive thoughts (29%);
• lack of motivation and reduced productivity (27%).

Respondents complained that they were afraid of loud noises (28%), had lost their appetite (18%), and felt like crying all the time (14%).

The respondents indicated that the causes of stress for them were:

• concern for their families’ safety (70%) and being separated from them (29%);
• the risk of losing their lives (51%) and property (35%) or being injured (28%);
• the risk of losing their job and being left without any income (34%);
• the lack of opportunity to leave the country (17%) or, on the contrary, fear of what would become of them abroad (5%).

Respondents also said they tried to deal with stress and negative emotions on their own by, for example, surfing the internet (39%), watching TV, films and TV series (34%), socialising (32%), and spending time with family (26%).

Respondents also said they tried to deal with stress and negative emotions on their own by

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By contrast, only 3% of respondents regularly see a psychologist or a therapist, although as many as 40% of people feel they need help. At the same time, 29% do not consider their problems to be serious enough to warrant seeing a specialist, and 25% believe they can cope with their problems on their own.

The respondents believe the following issues should be addressed by a specialist:

• excessive stress (42%);
• loss of a loved one (39%);
• participation in combat action and being in captivity (38%);
• sleep disturbances, constant fatigue, apathy, irritation (35%);
• changes in behaviour that could harm their families (32%);
• anxiety (31%).

34% of the respondents believe that servicemen and women are currently most in need of psychological assistance. 30% said people who have lost loved ones in the war need help the most, and 23% said it was civilians who survived occupation.

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