Anxiety during shelling: a psychotherapist tells how to calm down quickly

Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, air raid warnings have been sounded every day, during which the enemy may shell our territory. Some Ukrainians are used to it, while others panic at the sound of the siren.

Therefore, psychotherapist Oleg Chaban gave advice to those who cannot calm down during shelling and air raids. He spoke about how to panic less in the programme "Ukrinform: Evening Stream" programme.

He advises to pay attention to emotions. According to him, they have no logic, are strong and powerful, and as a result can make you do something stupid. Therefore, they should be fought with actions, not with convictions and other emotions.

"You need to do what you can control. For example, things related to family and work. Where you can immediately get results," said Oleg Chaban.

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The psychotherapist advises switching your attention to caring for others if you experience fear and negative emotions. This is necessary to reduce the level of emotional arousal.

"When we switch to someone else, our level of emotional arousal always decreases. There's a small or disabled person next to you, for example. How do you think they feel? Try not to calm yourself down, but work for them. We have provided help, we have moved away, and we start to worry again. Then we look for an external object again - cats, dogs," the therapist advised.

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Chaban also recommended working with your body. You can't go in for sports during air raid alarms, but there is another way that is suitable for sheltered rooms where there is no space.

"Work in this area. You feel the shaking, so let's try to increase this shaking. Put something under you, lie on your back, bend your legs and start shaking. This is a neurogenic trembling technique that relieves emotional stress," added Oleg Chaban.

Earlier, we told you how to quickly calm down if you have a panic attack. It is worth getting rid of stress, as it has a negative impact on health and psychological state.

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