The battles between Russians and Ukrainians have seen mass casualties (Picture: AP)
Doctors and psychologists recommend a lot remedies for those suffering from mental health issues – but combat experience in Ukraine is not a common one.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine is set to enter its third year next February, the Kremlin is continuing to send more and more soldiers to the frontlines.
Those who return often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, but this is frowned upon – so Russian psychologists are now saying ‘post-traumatic growth’ is a benefit to fighting in Ukraine.
Psychologist Vasily Langovoy told an anti-war website in Siberia that war doesn’t just traumatise people – it also ‘heals them’.
Those who serve in Ukraine could see ‘positive personality changes’ after fighting in Putin’s war.
Another psychologist, Tatiana Uryvchikova, based in Moscow, added: ‘Stress can cause a person to either break down, or become tough, like steel.
Many soldiers return home with mental health issues (Picture: AP)
‘And we never know which one it will be.
‘But many soldiers’ wives told me that their husbands returned from the front more heroic and more responsible, and began showing their best masculine qualities.’
Other psychologists in Russia have referred to post-traumatic stress disorder as ‘idiotic’, despite one in five soldiers who have served in combat suffering from mental health issues in Russia.
Russians are increasingly making issues like PTSD taboo to speak about. A doctor in Siberia said it was ‘bad form’ and a ‘dangerous trend’.
One Ukrainian website entitled ‘I Want to Live’ has helped hundreds of demoralised Russian troops surrender since the war began.
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