Extract from ABC News
As the war in Ukraine enters a second winter, expressions of joy in the bombarded country are hard to imagine.
But despite the daily threat of Russian attacks, citizens are carrying on their lives as normally as possible, according to a group of Ukrainian mental health doctors who have just spent months in Sydney.
"Sometimes people are very surprised when they come to Kyiv and see that people are laughing, people are smiling, people going to restaurants," Dr Viktoriia Kolokolova said.
"After a very hard night for everyone, they just wake up and just continue to work, just continue to live."
Associate Professor Oksana Senyk said Ukrainians were trying to stay positive to cope with the drawn-out conflict.
"We experience a lot of loss, a lot of sad emotions, but we also experience a lot of joy when we meet people, when we meet our friends," Dr Senyk said.
"We celebrate birthdays, we go to the cinemas."
Doctors take appointments via video
Dr Kolokolova and Dr Seynk are among seven Ukrainian psychiatrists and psychologists on a mission to improve their country's mental healthcare system and boost morale.
They have spent the past three months touring mental health facilities across New South Wales.
The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's director of psychiatry Dr Tanya Dus has been working with the doctors.
She said Ukraine lacked Australia's "multidisciplinary approach" to mental health where psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and occupational therapists work together to provide care.
"We complain about our health system, but it's actually pretty good by world standards," Dr Dus said.
Throughout the education tour, the Ukrainian doctors have continued to treat patients at home via video calls.
"Usually, it's very late night here in Australia when we do the consultations, but still we are able to manage our patients," Dr Dmytro Martsenkovsyi said.
He said Ukraine lacked resources, with mental health professionals fleeing the war as demand for care surged.
"Almost every night we have air raid alerts. Almost every night we hear the sounds of shooting and bombing," Dr Martsenkovsyi said.
"A lot of people have lost their close friends or relatives due to the war. And they are now suffering from grief disorders."
Widespread resilience and compassion
With Ukrainians forced to shelter from bombs up to several times a day, citizens are being taught "self-help" methods of quelling panic.
"When you're sitting in bomb shelter, just some breathing techniques or some very simple relaxation techniques," Dr Kolokolova said.
While many Ukrainians were struggling to cope with the "continuous traumatic stress" of the war, Dr Seynk said, many others had experienced "post-traumatic growth".
She said post-traumatic growth occurs when trauma strengthens a person's mental fortitude, personality, and spirituality.
"I observed it in young students, in adults," Dr Seynk said.
"I never experienced such big unity of my society … I never expected to see such a compassion support of one another."
Dr Kolokolova said Ukrainians had built resilience through a positive mindset as the war drags on with seemingly no end in sight.
"We don't want to be victims. We want to be survivors," she said.
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