As Ukraine war drags on, civilians' mental health needs rise
CTV
The World Health Organization says one in five people in countries that have experienced conflict in the past decade will suffer from a mental health condition, and estimates that about 9.6 million people in Ukraine could be affected.
Huddled in the back of a cafe near the train station where a missile killed dozens of people a year ago, Nastya took slow, deliberate breaths to calm herself. Overnight, her neighbourhood had been bombed again, and she just couldn't take any more.
Heeding her parents' advice, the 20-year-old woman had visited the nearby psychiatric hospital that morning -- a place that also bore the scars of war after being repeatedly bombed, including by a missile that destroyed part of the building last September. But the staff swept up the shattered glass, shoveled away the debris and carried on working, determined to stay in Kramatorsk, in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, to help those in need.
For Nastya, it was a lifeline.
"After today's shelling, I could no longer cope with anxiety, the feeling of constant danger," the speech therapy student said, giving only her first name to talk last month about the difficult decision to seek mental health care. The stigma of Soviet-era psychiatry, when dissidents were incarcerated in psychiatric institutions as a form of punishment, still lingers.
"I just realized that my psychological health is much more important," she said.
There are hundreds of thousands like Nastya in Ukraine, experts say, and the number of people needing psychological help is only expected to rise as the war continues. In December, the World Health Organization said one in five people in countries that have experienced conflict in the past decade will suffer from a mental health condition, and estimated that about 9.6 million people in Ukraine could be affected.
Russia's invasion in February 2022 resulted in millions of people being displaced, bereaved, forced into basements for months due to incessant shelling or enduring harrowing journeys from Russian-occupied regions.
Across the southern U.S., millions of residents woke up Friday to a rare chance to bust out the mittens and snow pants thanks to a cold snap that dumped snow in their backyards.
On Friday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on TikTok’s legal challenge to the law, which the company claims violates its First Amendment rights and those of its 170 million American users
A Canadian teen is reaching audiences around the world with powerful social media videos showing life without hands and feet – the price she paid after developing sepsis.
A New Brunswick nurse is ‘set for life’ after winning a $675,000 lottery prize last month.
Firefighters hoped for a break Friday from fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, obliterating whole neighborhoods and setting the nation's second-largest city on edge.
A Manitoba researcher was part of a historic research team that uncovered the oldest ice core ever retrieved.
BC Children’s Hospital says a 13-year-old girl with avian flu was discharged Tuesday after weeks in hospital.
In 1978, President Carter signed into law a bill that legalized homebrewing. Like most inventions, this new style of ale didn't stay inside garages for long.
Automakers pulled out all the stops to showcase their latest advances for in-vehicle experiences at CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show of all things tech, in Las Vegas this week.
A series of wildfires are searing through the Los Angeles area, forcing many to evacuate their homes. Here's everything that happened throughout Jan. 8.
Meta’s plans to ditch fact-checking on Instagram and Facebook is stirring up quite the debate.
Two workers at a state-run hospital in West Virginia have been charged in connection with the death of a 61-year-old non-verbal man who investigators said was left in a scalding hot bath for nearly an hour.
Budget-conscious buyers looking for luxury alternatives have flocked to Walmart's Birkin bag look-alike, nicknamed the 'Wirkin.'
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday it has opened a probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles in the United States over reports of crashes involving a feature that allows users to move their cars remotely.
California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained early Wednesday.
Lake Naivasha, northwest of Nairobi, Kenya is becoming increasingly unnavigable. Water hyacinth, the world's most widespread invasive species, is blanketing the lake, choking its fish and leaving people stranded.
Drinking coffee has repeatedly been linked with better heart health and prolonged life. But the benefits of coffee consumption could depend on when you drink it, new research has found.
On one of the most challenging days of Hannah White’s life, she found peace in the generosity and determination of several Delta Air Lines employees who went to great lengths to ensure that she was able to spend another precious 24 hours with her mom.