Many Ukrainian Calgarians struggling with mental health amid war in Ukraine
CBC
The current war in Ukraine has been distressing for Ganna Zakharova. She fled Crimea in 2014 as the Russian military invaded and annexed the Ukrainian territory.
She's been watching the conflict unfold and endanger the lives of her friends and family from afar in Alberta, the place she now calls home.
On Monday, Russia announced a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine, although the evacuation routes were mostly leading to Russia and its ally Belarus, drawing criticism from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to pummel Ukrainian cities including Mykolaiv, south of the capital of Kyiv, indicating there would be no wider cessation of hostilities. At least 1.5 million people have now fled the country.
"My pretty much brother is hiding from bombings and I'm here at work trying to concentrate and trying to focus, and I cry every day," says Zakharova about her cousin she grew up with.
She says one of her friends in Kyiv has started to fear the darkness, as that's when the bombings begin. Another friend has fled to a town further west, unwilling to leave the country because it's her home. Still another is worried about the safety of her one-year-old daughter.
Hanna Zavrazhyna, a Ukrainian therapist in Calgary, says she believes it's a retraumatizing time for those who came to Canada as refugees during previous conflicts in Ukraine.
"I would imagine that all of their fears are coming back. It's beyond describable," says Zavrazhyna.
But she says it isn't just refugees who are struggling — it's the entire Ukrainian community. Zakharova agrees.
"Everyone who I talk to from the Ukrainian community here, everyone is not sleeping and worried and anxious and angry as well," says Zakharova.
Many Ukrainian Calgarians are experiencing the mental health impacts of the war in Ukraine, knowing the lives of their loved ones are at risk. But Zavrazhyna says those who are struggling may not address it anytime soon, as personal distress isn't a priority compared to the survival of family and friends.
Zavrazhyna says the situation in Ukraine is so horrible that even as a therapist, she feels overwhelmed and struggles to give advice.
She says many Ukrainians aren't talking about their mental health during this time, despite feeling the repercussions.
"A lot of our friends are in mortal danger, so it feels inappropriate to even speak about how we feel," says Zavrazhyna. "How can we compare our suffering — where we're anxious, we're nervous, we're depressed, we don't sleep — with someone who can be killed at any moment?"
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