Zaporizhzhia JSC hosts training on how to take care of yourself in a stressful situation

Every day, we and our relatives and friends feel great stress because of the war. But we cannot take care of others until we take care of ourselves. The Zaporizhzhia Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) held a training session called Basic Skills Of Caring For Oneself And Others, which was conducted for Zaporizhzhia media workers by the leading specialist of the All-Ukrainian mental health program How Are You? Dariya Boiko.

“Most importantly, you need to realize that self-care is a key element of mental health that helps you deal with stressors, and there are a lot of them these days. What does it mean to take care of yourself? It is the realization that you are important. The essence of self-care is to learn to understand your own needs and listen to your emotions and body. But why is it not easy? Listening to yourself is often hindered by negative automatic thoughts or beliefs, such as “taking care of yourself is indecent,” “you should think about others, not yourself,” “I am the last letter of the alphabet,” etc., but the most common: – “you take care of yourself – therefore, an egoist.” All of these thoughts lead to feelings of guilt and shame, and in order to avoid them, we often ignore our needs and don’t take time for ourselves. I’m afraid that’s not right,” Dariya Boiko emphasized.

The psychologist emphasized that self-care is not a manifestation of selfishness but the skills to ensure one’s own health and well-being. Where is the fine line between self-care and selfishness, you ask? We realize that the actions of an egoist are aimed at obtaining a benefit. When you take care of yourself, you do not harm others. Where to start? From the simplest.

Basic ways of taking care of yourself. Recommendations from psychologist Dariya Boiko:

• follow a daily routine: sleep, food, exercise, routine. Adhere to 7-8 hours of night sleep, let fresh air in the room before going to bed, try to walk for at least 15 minutes before going to bed, be sure to carry out the usual hygiene procedures, do not eat anything unhealthy at night, do not read the news in bed, give up alcohol, smoking, and caffeine in the evening, do not engage in heavy physical training before bedtime;

• do your favorite and usual social activity. Think about activities that please you: exercise, walking, cycling or dancing, painting, singing, crafts or literary creation, listening to music or audiobooks, talking to someone close to you, reading books, etc.;

• create a new routine – daily schedule, self-help, self-control techniques, meditation, etc.;

• avoid harmful strategies for dealing with stress: abuse of alcohol and psychoactive substances – they can help in the short term but cause deterioration of mood, anxiety, sleep problems, and aggression when the effect wears off;

• thank yourself and others; before performing self-help techniques, think of people or events that fill you with gratitude, make a mental list of them, or write it down.

Try to follow these simple tips as often as possible to help you overcome stress every day. Choose the most effective ones for you. If you are unable to complete the suggested steps today, don’t beat yourself up and try again the next day. Everything is in your hands.

“Now, the time dictates to us, not only to the military, the need to communicate with a psychologist. Alerts, explosions, negative information, dissatisfaction with living conditions, news from occupied cities and villages, and expectations. All this is a heavy burden on almost every one of us. Taking care of yourself, keeping yourself in a stable state and trying to understand others, adequately reacting to life situations that are of a conflicting nature – this is now very important for the mental health of society as a whole,” Alla Shamrai, a journalist from Enerhodar, shares her thoughts after the training. “We remembered well-known methods of psychological help for ourselves, and others got acquainted with new ones. From now on, I will mentally repeat my affirmation of the day, suggested by a psychologist: “I am strong, happy, and self-confident!” And with such a mood, with such an attitude, we will live and fight for victory.”

Call the Zaporizhzhia JSC at 277 5352 (Nataliya Kuzmenko and Valentyna Manzhura, the Zaporizhzhia JSC coordinators). The Center’s address is 152 Sobornyi Avenue.

ABOUT JSC

The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

ABOUT UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.

Tamara Bort

Holos Huliaipillia newspaper journalist

Photo by Dariya Zyrianova