Unfortunately, many people are captured. For example, servicemen may be physically healthy, but experience a loss of self-esteem.
Vitaliy Lunyov, an Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Clinical Professor of Psychology and Clinical Psychoanalysis, scientific director of the Scientific and Practical Center for Neuropsychology and Psychosomatics at Deva Clinique, explained how to communicate with people who have been released from Russian captivity.
Return from Russian captivity. The main psychological challenges for servicemen
Vitaliy Lunyov said that the main challenge after returning from prolonged captivity is motivation and the ability to return to a normal life.
This is what everyone expects and what lies on the surface. But the most important thing is to feel and accept the idea that such a "return" is no longer possible given the new experience. The right way is to create a "new normal of life" and start seeing oneself in the perspective of time. In fact, the main thing has already happened — returning home with honour, saving lives and partially health, which are the highest values, he said.
Mr Lunyov stressed that prior to the exchange on 3 January, there had been no exchanges since August. This means that some people have returned after almost two years of captivity.
How long-term captivity affects mental health of military personnel
We often measure the process of traumatisation in terms of the intensity of the impact and its duration. For example, an earthquake has a minimum duration but a very high impact in terms of intensity. Staying in captivity acquires maximum values of traumatic impact intensity and a significant duration, Lunyov said.
As he explained, mental processes in humans are dynamic and always have their own time gradient, time for creation, consolidation and deployment. Therefore, long-term captivity is a period of permanence and repetition of traumatic factors for a long time.
According to the psychologist, although the fact that he returned from captivity alive is a sign of high adaptive capacity and resourcefulness, in everyday life and in the process of rehabilitation, he will be exposed to symptoms and conditions that were the main source of stress in captivity.
In addition, prisoners of war were constantly subjected to numerous abuses, torture, disability, sometimes rape and moral and psychological pressure, threats to kill their relatives, etc. Given the permanence of such exposure and its extreme intensity, there are risks of irreversible changes that can be compensated for and integrated into the structure of experience to some extent, he added.
How to act in cases when, as a result of stress, relatives of captured soldiers make claims and blame them for problems due to his captivity
The psychologist noted that, unfortunately, it happens that relatives and friends of soldiers released from captivity start accusing them.
You see, in many families, there is always the idea of finding someone to blame, and in addition, in a particular family, there may never have been a sense of love between a man and a woman and a certain level of maturity and ability to have normal relationships. Therefore, in their world of values and relationships, such patterns are absolutely commonplace... Contexts and situations change, but pretentiousness remains, Lunyov explained.
According to him, medical and rehabilitation measures, staying in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, etc. will be a temporary solution for those who have returned from captivity.
If the so-called family is dysfunctional in the first place — regardless of captivity — this will require a separate solution to the relationship, he added.
What should relatives do to help their beloved ones return to society as soon as possible
According to Vitaliy Lunyov, the following aspects are very important for the successful social integration of servicemen after captivity: patience, awareness of the limits of one's ability to influence these changes, and non-interference in medical and rehabilitation measures.
Doctors treat, rehabilitators rehabilitate, psychologists counsel, treat, and you support, worry, and love, if you have the resources and feelings to do so. From the very beginning, you must be sure that your loved one is sufficiently cured of the diseases that were the consequences of captivity. Remember, as long as there are somatic triggers, the risk of wrong actions on their part will always be high, the psychologist explained.
He added that relatives of released soldiers should understand that there are a number of topics that your relatives may never return to in conversations, and they will not tell you about the details of their time in captivity.
He may not be able to celebrate something with his family for a while, to see specific relatives ... friends ... ... He may need a separate room or accommodation. Avoid asking questions about his stay in captivity until he wants to share it with you, the expert emphasised.
According to him, it is necessary to avoid the idea that you need to do something every day to get back to life, or rather to show results every day, how you are returning to normal life. In this case, resocialisation or social integration can be based on the cumulative effect of changes from treatment and psychotherapy over a period of time, while there are still "no changes".
He added that all members of such a family need psychological help. In fact, all family members were caught in a narrative of captivity. A prisoner — literally, relatives — narratively, psychologically.
Programs of psychological assistance to those who returned from captivity. What is important to consider?
As explained by psychologist Lunyov, when developing psychological assistance programmes for released servicemen, it is necessary, on the one hand, to take into account approved protocols and guidelines, and on the other hand, to take into account neuroindividuality, as the functionality of brain structures is always crucial in overcoming stress and the process of adaptation.
I always focus on the brain-body-behaviour triad. Firstly, you need to literally negotiate with the brain of each rehabilitant, because personalised care, a person-centred approach, should start with understanding the neuropersonality of the person in front of you, he added.
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In fact, the main thing has already happened - returning home with honour, saving lives and partially health, which are the highest values," he said.
