We can say a lot about war. We can describe the war from many different angles. But no one can understand and know war because neither the causes nor the consequences will ever justify it. Therefore, war is the worst mistake that humanity can make.
That is why, on the 145th day of the war in Ukraine, I propose you consider the consequence of its impact on the psyche, which we can conditionally define as war fatigue. I deliberately do not use the conjunction “from” because this war is not over yet, and its course indicates the emergence of a specific way of life in the war – fatigue. By the way, this is one of the most important results and victories of hybrid warfare – psycho–emotional exhaustion and, as a result, fatigue from the seeming endlessness of war!
To explain fatigue, it is worth mentioning one feature of the psyche – its mobility. Yes, the psyche does not tolerate monotony. But what about stability? Under stability, the psyche understands the absence of obstacles to meeting needs. But it cannot stand obsessive repetition, which gives rise to impoverished images of perception and, as a result, monotony, which does not bring satisfaction. Therefore, in order not to fall into melancholy, as a loss of pleasure and enjoyment, the psyche will demonstratively avoid monotony under the “guise” of fatigue. For example, some fantastic, often inappropriate and extremely inappropriate needs and desires appear. Then we buy unnecessary things. Or we make expenses that we cannot explain logically.
As for war fatigue, in its psychology, first, we can define monotony, which leads to unsatisfied needs and desires. Subsequently, there will be a persistent feeling of inability to have stability in satisfying the usual way of life. And all of this will be subjectively “tied” by the psyche to the expected, often exaggerated consequences of the war. For example, I am currently observing two of them. The most common is complete pessimism about the future of the Ukrainian economy. Less often, there is an optimistic point of view in which Ukraine, as a sovereign state, is moving into another dimension of existence. And now, it is at the intersection of these dimensions. It is complicated to move from Russification to nationalization…
The 145th day of the war begins…
The psychology of fatigue: war
So, in the psychology of war fatigue, the consequences of war are of great importance.
Let us conditionally define three consequences of war that affect the human psyche and begin to tire it: uncertainty, unpredictability, and uncontrollability.
The ultimate uncertainty in war is time. Its duration. The beginning and the end.
The ultimate suffering in war is unpredictability. You don’t know when, how or whom. Everyone is equal. No one is a priority or, on the contrary, unaccounted for!
The ultimate trouble with war is uncontrollability. Any methods and rules of control, regulatory mechanisms and laws of governance are “multiplied by zero”.
…to be continued
