Natalia, Kyiv:
The 17th day of war, a question: What quality have you discovered in yourself? I was surprised to know that I am more optimistic than depressed, “fake it – make it” has worked in my case. What about you? What surprised you in yourself?
Yulia, Ukraine:
I always knew that I’m a calm person, but I didn’t know how much it affected others. I chat a lot with my friends about current news and try to calm them down, proving that everything is not as bad as we might think. I honestly didn’t believe it worked so much, but I got few compliments from my close ones that my comments and view on the war make them feel less stressed and anxious. I’m so glad to find out that I can actually help someone that way.
Sasha, Ukraine:
From my point of view, our lives will never be the same again. We need to adapt to the new reality. What surprised me in myself I’m not afraid of that, vice versa, I am looking forward to it. Although it doesn’t look like me at all because I always need time to realize the drastic changes in my life. I just know that our future will be better, independent and interesting.
Sofa, Ukraine:
I consider myself a very emotional person, but now I feel calm. Of course, I’m angry, but it’s not fear. I was surprised to learn how stress-resistant and fearless I am. I always take everything with humour, and it helps me even now.
Mary, Ukraine:
I am safe. Of course, my life has changed, and all my previous activities seem to lose meaning. I can’t work on my thesis because i almost completely lost my concentration. Also, I bought around 6 new books right before the war, on February 23, and now I can’t read anything at all, except news. I also feel that there are no proper words in Ukrainian to describe the amount of hate and anger I feel. I want someone to discover some kind of new hate speech towards them all.
Olga, Ukraine:
I was shocked to realise how strong I am. Actually, I am an emotional person too. But, I am looking for optimism. Even sitting in the basement during alarms, my friends and I play games, tell each other funny stories to keep our spirits up. I don’t get depressed, I always do what cheers me up – help, cook, do sport. As mentioned above, our life will never be the same, but I think it will be better, not immediately, but over time. We will overcome everything.
Victoria, Ukraine:
Honestly, before the war, I didn’t like Ukraine very much because of the political system. But when the war started, I was very surprised to be patriotic.
Valeria, Ukraine:
I always knew that I’m a very optimistic person. My friends call me a ray of optimism (and also happiness). But lately I’ve been thinking that I started to be more depressed. But in those 17 days, I really remained as optimistic as I was. And who has really changed these days is my friend Di. She is usually nervous for any reason, for every little detail. However, during these 17 days she wasn’t nervous and reassured all our acquaintances with me. She really grew mentally. And I’m proud of her!
In general, my friends and I once talked at night and came to an interesting conclusion. People, who were nervous all the time before and had panic attacks, are calm now in this situation. They are used to this state. It’s a habit of stress, somehow. And those people, who are not accustomed to such feelings, panic more and inflate the situation.
