Assessment of the clinical effectiveness of the organizational model of medical and psychological rehabilitation based on the analysis of the dynamics of the indicators of the mental status in military personnel exposed to combat stress

Relevance. Currently, great importance is attached to the medical and psychological rehabilitation of military personnel performing combat missions in conditions of armed local conflicts. For improving medical and recreational activities, comprehensive approach seems promising.Intention – to study the dynamics of the indicators of the mental status in servicemen with prior exposure to combat stress in the process of medical and psychological rehabilitation in an outpatient clinic and to assess the clinical effectiveness of a complex of medical and recreational measures.Methodology. The study involved 330 servicemen exposed to combat stress factors. Of the total number of those surveyed, 54 servicemen with a reduced adaptive potential by Baevsky were selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Patients in the experimental group underwent medical and psychological rehabilitation in an outpatient clinic including audiovisual stimulation and progressive muscle relaxation according to E. Jacobson; patients in the control group received standard treatment. Research methods: clinical diagnostics, anthropometry, physiometry, psychodiagnostic testing, mathematical and statistical data processing. The median, upper and lower quartile (Me [Q1; Q4]) are presented.Results and Discussion. According to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by Ch. D. Spielberger, servicemen exposed to combat stress factors and having reduced adaptive reserves showed a decrease in trait anxiety both in the experimental and control group: from 29 [27; 31] to 26 [22; 29] (p = 0.001) and from 29 [25; 35] to 27 [22; 33] (p = 0.025), respectively. Depressive symptoms in both groups were within reference limits, and their dynamics in the process of medical and psychological rehabilitation did not reach statistical significance. In the structure of the integral indicator of post-traumatic stress disorder in servicemen exposed to combat stress, the symptoms of hyperactivation were of the greatest importance. The results of the analysis of the dynamics of this indicator in the experimental group revealed its statistically significant decrease from 20 [18.5; 22] to 17 [14.5; 21] at p = 0.015.Conclusion. As a result of the study, based on the analysis of the dynamics of the indicators of the mental status in servicemen exposed to the factors of combat stress, the clinical effectiveness of the proposed organizational model of medical and psychological rehabilitation in an outpatient setting was proved.

Yoga for children in the new normal – experience sharing

Objectives Covid-19 Pandemic has affected everyone’s mental health. In addition to several preventive measures such as wearing a mask, using sanitizer, measures also need to be taken to prevent anxiety and depressive disorders due to this unexpected crisis situation. Practicing yoga is one of the simple, scientific methods to combat stress and prevent anxiety among children. Methods The scientific evidence and anecdotal experiences on benefits of yoga is described in this paper, highlighting the importance of yoga in nurturing the mental well-being in children. Results Scientifically designed and conducted studies as part of the research programs by health professionals objectively conclude that mental health parameters improve significantly with yoga as an intervention. In addition to mental health, yoga will also improve the physical health and boost immunity among children which will also help in reducing the infection rate in children. Conclusions As a way forward, authors strongly recommend establishing yoga as a curriculum at scale to cover the vast vulnerable population of young children who are the future of the nation.

When war came home: air-raid shock in World War I

During World War I, civilians became a target of the war machine. Air raids transformed the lives of those not involved in active combat and blurred the lines between the home front and the war front. This paper argues that the experience of air raids in World War I was comparable to the combat stress at the Western Front. The author bases her argument on contemporary publications in medical journals, measures taken by British authorities to prevent air-raid shock, and contemporary case records. The narratives of air-raid shock – similarly to those of shell-shocked soldiers – reflect the feelings of terror and loss of control, and demonstrate the profound effect these experiences could have on individuals’ mental health.

Algorithm of medical and psychological support for servicewomen, ATO/JFO female veterans

The psychotherapeutic program included targeted use of cognitive-behavioral therapy, personality-oriented therapy, biosuggestion, non-directive Rogerian psychotherapy, art therapy, biofeedback, trauma-focused therapy, EMDR. PTSD coping strategies program was used for the military Pucelik Consulting Group. The psychotherapeutic intervention was aimed at the affective reappraisal of the traumatic experience; correction of behavioral patterns associated with combat stress; development of skills for mastering anxiety and emotional reactions, constructive forms of cognitive and emotional response in the face of changing life stereotypes; return to a peaceful life. An important component of the program of medical and psychological support is psychoeducation. It is aim: to develop an adequate system of conceptions about the consequences of combat stress and peculiarities of adjustment reactions during changes of life stereotype; to understand the main consequences and psychopathological reactions caused by psychic trauma; to train in methods of mastering the consequences of combat mental trauma, to learn basic self-help techniques for intrusive memories, alarming paroxysms, skills of self-regulation and self-management for own mental state. A complex system of medical and psychological support for servicewomen at the stage of readaptation to a peaceful life after demobilization should be aimed at reducing the level of emotional tension; affective reassessment of traumatic experiences; the formation of a positive attitude towards the future; correction of experiences associated with changes in life stereotype (feeling of helplessness, difficulties associated with social adaptation), creation of a new cognitive model of life; family psychotherapy and spousal psychocorrection; medical assistance in case of stress-related disorders.

THE PSYCHOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER THROUGH MILITARY PERSONNEL’S CREATIVE WRITING

The aim of this paper is to study the linguistic markers of manifestation in the modern non-institutional military-poetic discourse of consequences of combat stress, which the Ukrainian army servicemen experienced during military operations. This study focuses on an integrated approach combining pragmatic and cognitive approaches in the framework of discourse analysis. Analysis of the military-poetic discourse has proved that combat stress takes a toll in the poetry of military personnel in the form of signs of the emotional and psychological state, which is taken as post-traumatic stress disorder. These signs are: reference to recurring disturbing dreams (nightmares) and obsessive troubling flashbacks relating to war; a subconscious desire to forget what has happened; persistent negative emotional and psychological state, which manifests itself in negative feelings, moods and emotions such as: depression, anger, rage, hatred, mistrust, resentment, humiliation, letdown, confusion from not understanding what is happening; persistent inability to experience positive emotions; depersonalization; feeling of isolation, alienation from other people; persistent and exaggerated expectations from others, which manifests itself in negative beliefs and/or blaming yourself and others. To protect their psyche from the destructive effects of a traumatic situation, servicemen use such self-regulation strategy as involvement in artistic creativity, in which poetry works as a type of social and psychological rehabilitation. The rewind technique, psychodrama and cognitive restructuring are the most essential elements of self-regulation strategies used by the participants in the Joint Forces Operation.

Psychodiagnostic toolkit of combat stress for aviation specialists

The article is dedicated to the analysis of psychological techniques used in psychological practice to determine the combat stress among aviation professionals. The relevance of the article is due to the active interest of modern researchers in this problem as the appropriate psychological toolkit doesn’t exist. The study is performed in compliance with medical psychology, together with the study of combat stress phenomenology and the development of psychological tools for psychodiagnostics, psychocorrection, and psychotherapy. The author presents express-methods that allow both to establish the signs of combat stress and to assess it in points, to work with tools in the field at any weather and season or hospital conditions. The suggested comprehensive approach to the study of the combat stress phenomenon among the specialists through its understanding of the integrative internal content where one of its elements is psychological resources. This approach allows us to study combat stress in the dynamics of its changes, as a state of mental stress among the servicemen during their adaptation to combat conditions using the resource potential. The analysis showed that the proposed methods are universal and allow a comprehensive consideration of the combat stress problem among the servicemen.