Archpriest Mikhail Ivanovsky, confessor of the Conception Convent (1874-1942). Sisterhood "Joy and Consolation

Donbass has always been a difficult region. With a large concentration of the urban population, a frantic pace of life and a difficult environmental situation, the land of miners and metallurgists attracted people like a magnet. And not only economically, but also psychologically. Having such an unfavorable emotional background, Donetsk residents are in no hurry to seek help ...
“There is undoubtedly a large concentration of people with mental disorders in the Donetsk region. A large number of urban population is concentrated here, there are thousands of multi-storey buildings, there is simply not enough trees. An environmental problem looms. After all, intoxication with industrial waste reduces the human immune system. Stress appears. In addition, Donbass during all periods of its existence was a region of high industrial injuries. A lot of Chernobyl victims live in our region. Plus, a number of large highways pass through the Donetsk region - the number of accidents is increasing. That is, traumatism also leads to a large concentration of harmful factors for the psyche, ”explained Mikhail Bero, director of the Donetsk neuropsychiatric center.

45 prejudices
On the eve of the Day of Mental Health, which is celebrated in Ukraine on October 10, the specialists of the center conducted research on almost a thousand patients in a year. As a result, 45 basic prejudices were discovered, due to which Donetsk residents do not seek psychotherapists. Leading among them are false beliefs that doctors will register and use cruel methods of therapy. And also the fear that acquaintances, having learned about treatment from a psychotherapist, will call a person crazy and stop communicating with him.
"Despite the development of new methods of treatment, many people do not receive the necessary help and are left alone with their problems. The fault lies in the imposed stereotypes that a visit to a psychologist is shameful, expensive and scary," the Donetsk psychotherapists say. The result of this stigma is self-medication, which at all times was considered detrimental to human health. Doctors warn against self-prescribing medications, while advertising on TV, on the contrary, imposes them. “Quite often we face problems when a person“ prescribes ”medicines, seen in advertisements, on TV. Usually this is due to the fact that due to illness, he has a feeling of shame and this feeling of shame closes in seeking help from specialists, explains the head of the neuropsychiatric department Ivan Gostyuk. - Naturally, he is looking for some alternatives and those drugs that are advertised, although it is difficult to call them psychotropic drugs. These can be herbal preparations that have some kind of sedative properties. Such funds have the right to exist, but they do not have a therapeutic effect on the psyche. "
“In addition, the study revealed that, first of all, people are looking for ut help on the Internet. Another misconception is that you can easily find a pill for depression. Soon depression will come to the first point of the diseases of modern mankind, "- added in turn the psychotherapist Vladimir Soroka. Mikhail Bero, in turn, focused on another factor that affects the psyche of a resident not only of Donetsk region, but of the whole of Ukraine. “We have two situations in our country - perestroika and the proclamation of independence of Ukraine - at one time overlapped. We are in constant information stress - we are waiting for the end of the world, a global economic catastrophe. As a result, we have one of the most difficult neuroses - "neurosis of expectation", - said the professor. In connection with this trend, the need for medical and psychological assistance is growing. Up to 10 patients come to the Center's psychotherapists every day, and two to three times more come to the consultative clinic. In addition, more than 2.5 thousand patients receive inpatient care every year.

MINERS LEAD
According to Volodymyr Soroka, in the Donetsk region people of working professions, in particular, miners, are leading in terms of the number of mental disorders. In second place are teachers and preschool workers, while housewives, medical workers and retirees round out the top five. Private entrepreneurs, financiers and businessmen who prefer to be treated anonymously also turn to therapists. Without advertising their position, entrepreneurs call themselves unemployed so that no one will find out that they have psychological problems.
Whole families come to Donetsk psychiatrists for help. It's no secret that modern children are not at all like their parents, and the parents themselves have a completely different attitude to raising their children. “The main problems, if we take small children, are neurotic disorders - stuttering, nocturnal urinary incontinence, autism. After all, there are a lot of divorces now, conflicts in families have begun to occur more and more often. The fact that we are engaged in the prevention of domestic violence allowed us to understand that it is necessary to provide assistance not only to the victim of violence, but also to her child. For example, a woman comes, then it turns out that, in addition to violence, she is worried that she has a child with problems, sleepy, who is trying to attract the attention of this exploded father. And how can it attract? Stuttering, urinary incontinence. And we are trying to break this vicious circle, ”Mikhail Pavlovich stressed.
At the same time, according to the professor, the so-called violent in the Donetsk region are no more. “In all periods of human existence, every thousandth fell ill with schizophrenia, every ten thousandth fell ill with epilepsy. So mental disorders were, are and will be. There will also be psychiatric beds, they will not go anywhere, appropriate assistance will be provided. Each city, if you raise the history, remembers its urban madmen, whole novels have been written, these are special people and they will not go anywhere! " - stated Mikhail Bero.
When asked whether the number of suicides has increased recently, Mikhail Bero noted: “Over the past three years, the Health of the Nation program has been approved in our region, one of the priorities of which was to reduce the number of suicides, including among adolescents. Our center closely cooperates with all Donetsk resuscitation centers. We even created an office for crisis situations: first we opened 15 crisis beds, today there are already 30 of them. But this does not mean growth, it speaks about the urgency of the problem. Unfortunately, after a suicide attempt, a person is the last to come to us, we are doctors. And before that, the internal affairs bodies, social services should be engaged in this ”.

What motivates a person who spends all his time, effort and money on computer games or slot machines? Why does he become a slave to a seemingly completely harmless hobby? We have learned to beware of temptations that can cause physical addiction, but the enemy of the human race has found a more sophisticated way to destroy people. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Chief Specialist in Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, Director of the Regional Clinical Psycho-Neurological Hospital - Medical and Psychological Center Mikhail Pavlovich Bero talks about non-chemical addiction.

- Mikhail Pavlovich, what is non-chemical dependence? What are the main causes and consequences of its occurrence?

- Non-chemical dependence is a conventional name. In chemical addiction, the human body is artificially stimulated by various drugs for pleasure, while in non-chemical addiction, this stimulation is produced due to the emergence of a strong passion for something, and this leads to the production of neurochemicals in its own brain.

Human psychology assumes that the personality must be harmonious. The concept of "harmony", in addition to the ability to realize and understand the world around us, includes the concept of spirituality, faith in God. When there is a violation of harmony, an empty cell is formed in the personality structure, and this emptiness must be filled with something. A person finds himself various hobbies, which often cause the appearance of psychological dependence. This leads to an increase in sin, to various impious acts, and, in the end, a person's life turns into a tragedy.

The range of dependencies is very large. This can be a passion for gambling, pathological addiction to slot machines, SMS-ok transmission, computer games, and so on. Artificial stimulation occurs, and a careful production of too large doses of hormones, adrenaline, in particular, begins, which leads to early aging of the body. Such a large release of active biochemical substances causes stomach or duodenal ulcers, hypertension, and thyroid disease. A person destroys himself, his circle of interests narrows, his whole life becomes devoted to this pathological attraction.

Besides, one sin, one addiction causes another. This is a vicious cycle.

- Are non-chemical addictions divided into female and male?

- There is no clear division. Women are more emotional. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say that men play more slot machines. Nowadays, you can often see the picture when retired grandmothers gamble and lose their pensions. In Western countries, play areas are moved outside the city, so that there is no strong temptation to play. In our country, legislation does not provide for a ban on the location of play areas in public places.

- Can a person get rid of this addiction on his own?

- Addiction has its own criteria - mental and somatic, that is, it manifests itself on the part of the psyche and on the part of internal organs. When these two components are present, this is a complete dependence, which is extremely difficult for a person to overcome himself. Basically, in the treatment, a combination of drug therapy and psychological influence is used, which implies the mandatory intervention of specialists.

- Many people hide their hobbies. How to understand that a loved one has problems?

- If a person becomes addicted, then this first of all changes his life priorities. He moves away from his old hobbies, begins to form a circle of interests around this dependence. A person avoids friends, he distributes his working and non-working time differently. A team of people immediately arises around one addict, which involves him, supports and “siphons out” money. A person will immediately begin to experience material dependence - and this will also be striking.

- The problem of non-chemical dependence has existed for a long time. What is the danger of non-chemical addiction in our time?

- It has never acquired such a scale as it is now. Who could get involved in, for example, gambling before? Only wealthy middle-aged people who belonged to specialized clubs. Now with the spread of casinos, slot machines, there is a tendency to involve young people in all this.

The peculiarity of the psyche of a teenager is such that a person during this period of life is on the verge between childhood and adulthood. The teenager needs parental care and at the same time tries to separate from them, begins to try himself in real life. Such a search boils down to the fact that there may be a threat of a serious mental disorder behind the offer to play computer games. We treated teenagers who were literally kicked out of computer clubs by security guards. The addiction was so strong that the person was afraid to leave the club, he could not imagine himself outside this club. Children dropped out of school, neglected the rules of personal hygiene, they literally lived in these clubs. The teenager is trying to assert himself, and such a spiritless, non-church upbringing, lack of traditions has such disastrous consequences.

- But this problem is also present in Orthodox families. What mistakes did your parents make? Is this not due to the fact that adults, trying to protect, shield the child from the outside world?

- Every human action has external and subconscious reasons. If the churching of a child in the subconscious of his parents is to protect him from the bad external influences of the world, then this can lead to the child not wanting to go to church. The teenager will still look for himself, he will look for the answer to the questions: who am I? Where I am? what am i for? The child should understand why he believes in God, why he was taken to Sunday school, why he is forced to read the Bible, learn psalms and pray.

One of the laws of adolescence is the tendency to imitate. But what will he imitate? The child is also prone to organizing groupings. Whether we like it or not, it will still be like that. Reaction of emancipation, release from parental and teacher influence. And it depends on upbringing whether he finds it interesting to be in a group of Christian believers or in a group of gamblers. He will see that his comrades go for a walk on Sunday morning, it is fun there, and he is taken to the temple, where he needs to pray and repent. Therefore, within the framework of a children's Sunday school, events can also be carried out that would be playful in form, but educate and form a religious worldview in content.

The upbringing and education of children is a global problem. In our country, everything is subject to fashion trends. It is now fashionable to get married - and people do it. But this sacrament is not as common as registration in the registry office. It is necessary that a person can turn to God at any time, so that in every institution there is a place where one can pray, so that a person is surrounded by people who share his faith. After all, we are not protected from the fact that a child brought up in Orthodox traditions in society will not face a struggle with these traditions.

- There are no prospects for improving the situation in our country yet. What can be done under these conditions, how to avoid “surges” of departure from faith?

- The family goes to church, she turns to some priest for advice and spiritual guidance. This priest must be literate and, at a modern level, must be able to understand all family members, and the child, in particular, his age.

- If one of the family members has a non-chemical addiction - where can relatives go?

- Relatives should be attentive, and first aid should come primarily from loved ones. Parents are obliged to understand what the child lacks, why he thus fills the spiritual emptiness. Visiting the temple, faith in the Lord significantly speeds up the process of recovery not only from non-chemical addictions, but also from other psychological disorders. For example, in our clinic there is a certain attitude - the patient is strongly recommended to visit the temple, which is located on the territory of our center, to take part in the sacraments, to discuss his problem with the priest.

Rarely, but it happens that people are born with a predisposition to non-chemical addiction - the slightest provocation is enough, and a person is completely drawn into this. But I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is very difficult to recover from non-chemical addiction, it is better not to acquire it.

Interviewed by Anastasia Patricha

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For the sixteenth year, the sisterhood in honor of the Athonite Icon of the Mother of God "Joy and Consolation" of the Cyril Parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been conducting trusteeship in the neuropsychiatric hospital No. 1 in Kiev. Every year, spiritual and material assistance is provided to patients in 28 departments, including two for children, as well as a department for people who have violated the law and undergo a forensic psychiatric examination. In total, the sisterhood takes care of more than 11 thousand patients per year.

Kirillovsky parish was organized in 1993 and became the first "hospital" parish in Kiev. He was repeatedly recognized as one of the best in Ukraine by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Abbot

The rector of the parish is Archpriest Theodore Sheremeta. In 1993, the priest served in the Intercession Monastery, and in the fall, at the request of the spiritual children, he came to the Pavlovsk hospital, as the psychiatric hospital No. 1 in Kiev is called. Several future parishioners brought a chair and a vessel for the consecration of water. The hospital is located near the ancient Church of St. Cyril (XII century), known all over the world for its unique frescoes and artwork by Mikhail Vrubel and for many years acting as a museum - the temple was closed in 1926. And for the first time in 67 years, the words of the holy prayer were heard over this corner of Kiev. After a while, hospital patients began to approach and were allowed free exit from the departments. Some approached Father Theodore and touched his robes with their hands with the words: "Is this a real priest?" After the prayer service, Father Theodore began to distribute crosses and icons. The sick gladly accepted the relics, were baptized, whoever knew how, exclaiming: "So God has come to us! .. This priest Christ sent! .. And the Mother of God ...".

In fact, it was on that autumn day that the Cyril parish began its soul-saving activity. The head physician of the hospital, Vitaly Lisovenko, responded to the initiative of the Orthodox. In the building of the old club, where the refectory of the Cyril Monastery was once located, a room was allocated for the performance of divine services. And then the entire one-story building, which at that time was in disrepair, was transferred to the Church for use. With the blessing of the rector, several sisters got a job as nurses in the hospital departments of the clinic; they, and then other sisters and brothers, began to bring groups of patients to services. This is how the sisterhood of mercy began its activities.

Then a charitable canteen was built on the hospital grounds. Near Kiev, in the village. Tarasovka, Baryshevsky district, a parish skete with the temple of the martyr Alexander of Rome arose. Here, the parish rented 60 hectares of arable land for agricultural work. Grown here, as well as honey from the apiary, meat and dairy products, a charity canteen is provided, where more than 100 people eat daily. The fact is that in the vast territory of the hospital there are many homeless people: discharged former patients of the hospital who have nowhere to return, chronic sick people and just vagrants who find out that “near that church they give food and clothes and can warm them up”. Some of this vagrant cohort again become normal people and join the working Orthodox community. On the very territory of the hospital - it is located on the ancient Kirillovsky hills, covered with oak and mixed forest - there is a so-called "desert", also with a garden, vegetable gardens, vegetable stores and an apiary. Here the "lost sheep" work. All these undertakings, including the re-equipment of the old refectory building into the new Basil the Great Church, the organization of the library, local radio broadcasting, publishing activities, are the initiatives of the tireless father Theodore Sheremeta, an experienced confessor and pastor, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy, a candidate of theological sciences and a teacher liturgists in theological schools of Kiev. During these 16 years, Fr. Theodore has brought up a whole galaxy of pastors, many of whom are now experienced archpriests, rectors of churches, including those in hospitals.

The hospital staff soon noted an improvement in the condition of the patients attending the temple, participating in the ordinances of confession and the sacrament. Thus, one of the patients of the hospital, Tamara K., who has been undergoing treatment unsuccessfully for several years, was discharged with a significant improvement in her health, and now she is one of the regular sisters of the sisterhood and does not go to doctors about her health anymore. Another example. A young man and a girl, once hospital patients, began to visit the temple, sang in the kliros, and then got married in the St. Cyril Church and now bring their children to communion, still helping Father Theodore in his multifaceted work. And there are many such examples: a certain percentage of parishioners are just former hospital patients (this is the phenomenon of the Kirillov community), who remember their illness as a nightmare. But neither the abbot nor the sisters of mercy, as a rule, proclaim loudly about healings: believers know that everything is possible with God, and unbelievers will explain the fact of recovery in the Church by "the favorable influence of melodic singing and the beauty of the temple and the psychological influence of priests" or "a mistake in diagnosis ".

A bit of history

In the Cyril Monastery, founded by the Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich in the XII century, the miracle-worker Saint Demetrius of Rostov, nicknamed the Russian Chrysostom, began his spiritual path.

As history testifies, the Kirillov monastery has always been characterized by the patronage of the “orphaned and the poor”. After the abolition of the monastery by Catherine II in 1786, a shelter for military invalids was organized here. For him, the former monastic cells were used. And the new buildings built then housed a psychiatric hospital, which was previously located in Podil (Konstantinovskaya St., 6/8). In 1823, in the eastern part of the monastery, a complex of three architectural structures was built (architect I. Charlemagne), where almshouses for former military personnel - participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the elderly were located.

Before the revolution, the hospital was a whole medical complex with scientific departments, therapeutic and surgical departments, and even an obstetric-paramedic school was opened here. Nevertheless, the new hospital buildings on its modern territory of 60 hectares were built already in Soviet times.

The ancient Cyril Church before the revolution acted as a hospital. For a long time, monks and pious laity caring for the sick lived on the territory of the hospital. In total, nine almshouses operated under the auspices of the Church in Kiev before the revolution. It would seem a small figure, but if we consider that in 1913 the population of Kiev was 150 thousand people (the number of one urban district today), a different picture emerges. In addition, under the leadership of the Church, a lot of charity events were held. The Church was the soul and core of trusteeship, mercy, upbringing and education of the people. But for more than 70 years she was deprived of the right to engage in deeds of mercy, and she had to do it in secret. For example, at the Intercession Monastery during the Khrushchev and Brezhnev times, there was an almshouse for elderly nuns, where pious parishioners who found themselves alone in their old age were often assigned.

Alarming statistics

As already mentioned, the Kirillovsky parish was the first in Kiev to resume charity work in caring for the sick. In essence, the foundation was laid for the interaction of the Church and government medical institutions.

The harsh statistics of the WHO give disappointing numbers and forecasts regarding the growth of mental illness in the world. One of the terrible consequences of the sometimes latent mental disorders of modern mankind is suicide. It is not for nothing that most of all suicides (more than 25 cases per 100 thousand population) are in countries with a fairly high material standard of living, such as Austria, the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan. Ukraine, which does not shine with economic achievements, also falls into this sad list. Most of all suicides were recorded in our industrial cities and areas affected by the Chernobyl accident - an average of 35 cases per 100 thousand population. However, sociologists believe that the real figure is two to four times higher than official statistics.

The number of people with mental disorders, which has tripled over the past 30 years, will continue to grow. According to WHO forecasts, by 2020, mental disorders will be among the top five diseases leading in the number of human labor losses. WHO experts believe that in the developed countries of the world, 5-10% of the population needs psychiatric care. By 2020, depressive diseases will overtake the current world "leader" - diseases of the cardiovascular system.

The rise in mental illness in children is of particular concern. In Ukraine, this has become almost catastrophic. According to statistics, the incidence of the nervous system for the period from 1992 to 2000 increased by 43%, and this figure continues to grow. The incidence of the nervous system in children over the next five years - from 2000 to 2005 - increased by almost 30%. Over the years of schooling, the number of neuropsychiatric disorders in children increases by one and a half times, the proportion of sick children with such disorders, according to some researchers, from the 1st to the 8th grade increases from 15 to 40%. Moreover, 68% of school-age children smoke, more than 6% use drugs.

Therefore, in the agreement concluded between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, there is a clause concerning mental illness in the country, because the beneficial influence of the Church in the treatment of such ailments is known. Doctor of Medicine, Professor Mikhail Bero, director of the Donetsk Regional Psychoneurological Hospital, is sure that Orthodox psychotherapy based on patristic experience “introduces into the realm of true soul therapy, the origins of which lead to Christ Himself and His holy disciples. It is a moral and religious direction of psychotherapy and is based on Christian enduring values \u200b\u200bthat have cemented for many centuries the very foundation of the state with its distinctive culture, sciences, crafts, defining the entire social life. " The doctor believes that the revival of Orthodox psychotherapy with the participation of the Church in working with patients with mental disorders and nervous diseases reflects the urgent need of our sick and deeply tragic time of changes, which has brought chaos and confusion to human minds.

Sisterhood

Three years ago, the elder sister of the sisterhood, Lyubov Andreevna Shinkarenko, took over from her predecessor, Ekaterina Andreevna Bortkova, who had been obedient to her elder sister for five years. Now Ekaterina Andreevna is a nun of Predislava, a resident of the ancient Florovsky monastery in Podol, where at one time the young Prokhor Moshnin, the future lamp of the Russian land, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, received a blessing. Actually, the spiritual relationship permeates all the ancient Kiev churches and monasteries, as a rule, which played a special role in the spiritual development of Christ's ascetics. And for these monasteries, leading their history from the time of the Baptism of Russia and the activities of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, deeds of mercy and care for the "suffering, sick, orphaned and poor" are characteristic. It is no coincidence that the great prince-baptist himself, a cruel pagan before baptism, was called the Red Sun among the people - for his great love and compassion for the poor people - qualities that were bestowed on him by God with the grace of holy baptism. Ancient patericons tell us about cases of miraculous healings of the insane. In the cave of the Monk Anthony of the Caves, an iron ring in the wall was preserved, to which they tied the possessed, suffering from an unclean spirit. Even now, the Kiev caves with the relics of the monks attract thousands of people, among whom there are many ailing.

From the first days of the activity of the sisterhood "Joy and Consolation" the patients themselves began to assert that after visiting the church and especially after accepting the sacred gifts of the flesh and blood of Christ, they received great relief.

I was a secular person and far from the Church, but even then I heeded the Lord's call to be an Orthodox Christian and serve Him in deeds of mercy, - says Lyubov Andreevna Shinkarenko. - Having moved to Kiev with my husband, a retired officer, I began to visit the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and there I heard about the Kirillovsky parish, which takes care of mentally ill people. I really wanted to help these unfortunates somehow. I came to Kirillovskaya and turned to Fr. Theodore with a request to give me some kind of obedience. He looked that way at my elegant appearance (and then I loved to look spectacular), shook his head and said: “I don’t know what kind of obedience to give you. We have no obedience for you ... ". I was very upset, went to church and began to pray tearfully. Then I again came to Fr. Theodore with the same question, and he sent me home a second time. As I understand it, the wise confessor tested my intention. I already prayed to the Mother of God at home. And I think: well, if he refuses for the third time, then there is no will of God. I come and say: "Father, I can do everything, even wash the floors, wash rags ...". And he was so surprised: "Wash the floors?" - and turned to the sisters of the temple: "Give her a bucket and a rag, let her wash." And left. I was, as they say, in seventh heaven. I was already scrubbing these floors with such diligence, but Father Theodore walks by, looks, smiles and says nothing. In general, I passed the obedience of the cleaning lady perfectly well, so soon the father blessed me to be a sister of mercy. So the Lord led me to this godly work. But the desire to help others is not enough, you still need to be patient, ask the Lord for help and strength, endure all kinds of temptations. For the enemy of the human race does not tolerate such deeds and begins to intrigue. Only confession and frank conversations with the spiritual father help to overcome difficulties. After all, we are dealing with people who have a sick soul. And to work with such suffering, you need, first of all, to be very attentive to yourself.

The sisterhood has 18 sisters of mercy. These are women of different ages and different occupations. Many with higher education: lawyers, teachers, economists. Most of them combine work with obedience in the sisterhood. As a rule, on Sundays and holidays they are assembled by the whole staff, and on weekdays they are on duty in turn. But they would never have coped with such a volume of work if not for the helpers from among the parishioners. For example, once a month a group of elderly women-retirees comes to the parish, who allocate funds from their pension to buy food. As a rule, they buy high-quality bacon and prepare pates with garlic and parsley from it, bring bread and other products by car and then make sandwiches, which are distributed to the departments. Lyubov Andreevna keeps a little statistics for accounting, and it turned out that about 80 thousand sandwiches are prepared and distributed to patients per month. There were also benefactors among business representatives who regularly send products.

Looking at the labors of these humble women in white robes with red embroidered crosses, one involuntarily recalls the words from the Sermon on the Mount of the Savior: “Blessed be mercy, for they will be forgiven” (Matthew 5: 7).

Christmastide and Easter

With a Christmas star, icons and singing carols, Sunday school students, led by the clergy and sisters of mercy, are sent to the hospital departments. A parish van, laden with boxes of Christmas gifts, icons, holy water, and candles, follows. Toys, board games, sketchbooks, felt-tip pens and pencils, children's Bibles are also brought to the children's departments. I had a chance to take part in these festive volunteer processions and see with what joy the sick, languishing behind the closed doors of the hospital departments, greeted the parishioners. How their faces revived and their glances that were extinguished from illness and medicines shone, how they joyfully crossed themselves and amicably responded to the Christmas greeting "Christ is born!": "We praise Him!" And on Easter, in hospital wards and canteens, they sound - and will sound this year too - the gospel words: "Christ is Risen!" - "Indeed he is risen!"

4.09.08

What motivates a person who spends all his time, energy and money on gambling? Why does he become a slave to a seemingly completely harmless hobby? We have learned to beware of temptations that can cause physical dependence, but the enemy of the human race has found a more sophisticated way to destroy people. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Chief Specialist in Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, Director of the Regional Clinical Psycho-neurological Hospital - Medical-Psychological Center Mikhail Pavlovich Bero talks about non-chemical addiction.

- Mikhail Pavlovich, what is non-chemical dependence? What are the main causes and consequences of its occurrence?

- Non-chemical dependence is a conventional name. In chemical dependence, the human body is artificially stimulated by various drugs for the sake of pleasure, while in non-chemical dependence, this stimulation is produced due to the appearance of a strong passion for something, and this leads to the production of neurochemicals in its own brain.
Human psychology assumes that the personality must be harmonious. The concept of "harmony", in addition to the ability to realize and understand the world around us, also includes the concept of spirituality, faith in God. When there is a violation of harmony, an empty cell is formed in the personality structure, and this emptiness must be filled with something. A person finds himself various hobbies, which often cause the appearance of psychological dependence. This leads to an increase in sin, to various impious acts, and, in the end, a person's life turns into a tragedy.
The range of dependencies is very large. This can be a passion for gambling, pathological addiction to slot machines, SMS-ok transmission, computer games, and so on. Artificial stimulation occurs, and a careful production of too large doses of hormones, adrenaline, in particular, begins, which leads to early aging of the body. Such a large release of active biochemical substances causes stomach or duodenal ulcers, hypertension, and thyroid disease. A person destroys himself, his circle of interests narrows, his whole life becomes devoted to this pathological attraction.
Besides, one sin, one addiction causes another. This is a vicious cycle.

- Are non-chemical addictions divided into female and male?

- There is no clear division. Women are more emotional. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that men play more slot machines. Nowadays, you can often see a picture when retired grandmothers gamble and lose their pensions. In Western countries, play zones are moved outside the city, so that there is no strong temptation to play. In our country, legislation does not provide for a ban on the location of play areas in public places.

- Can a person get rid of this addiction on his own?

- Addiction has its own criteria - mental and somatic, that is, it manifests itself from the side of the psyche and from the side of internal organs. When these two components are present, this is a complete dependence, which is extremely difficult for a person to overcome himself. Basically, in the treatment, a combination of drug therapy and psychological influence is used, which implies the mandatory intervention of specialists.

- Many people hide their hobbies. How to understand that a loved one has problems?

- If a person becomes addicted, then this first of all changes his life priorities. He moves away from his old hobbies, begins to form a circle of interests around this dependence. A person avoids friends, he distributes his working and non-working time differently. A team of people immediately appears around one addict, which involves him, supports and "siphons out" money. A person will immediately begin to experience material dependence - and this will also be striking.

- The problem of non-chemical dependence has existed for a long time. What is the danger of non-chemical addiction in our time?

- It has never acquired such a scale as it is now. Who could get involved in, for example, gambling before? Only wealthy middle-aged people who belonged to specialized clubs. Now with the spread of casinos, slot machines, there is a tendency to involve young people in all this.
The peculiarity of the psyche of a teenager is such that a person during this period of life is on the verge between childhood and adulthood. The teenager needs parental care and at the same time tries to separate from them, begins to try himself in real life. Such a search boils down to the fact that there may be a threat of a serious mental disorder behind the offer to play computer games. We treated teenagers who were literally kicked out of computer clubs by security guards. The dependence was so strong that the person was afraid to leave the club, he could not imagine himself outside this club. Children dropped out of school, neglected the rules of personal hygiene, they literally lived in these clubs. The teenager is trying to assert himself, and such a spiritless, non-church upbringing, lack of traditions has such disastrous consequences.

- But this problem is also present in Orthodox families. What mistakes did your parents make? Is this not due to the fact that adults, trying to protect, shield the child from the outside world?

- Every human action has external and subconscious reasons. If the churching of a child in the subconscious of his parents is to protect him from the bad external influence of the world, then this can lead to the fact that the child does not want to go to church. The teenager will still look for himself, he will look for the answer to the questions: who am I? Where I am? what am i for? The child should understand why he believes in God, why he was taken to Sunday school, why he is forced to read the Bible, learn the psalms and pray.
One of the laws of adolescence is the tendency to imitate. But what will he imitate? The child is also prone to organizing groupings. Whether we like it or not, it will still be like that. Reaction of emancipation, release from parental and teacher influence. And it depends on upbringing whether he will find it interesting for himself to be in a group of Christian believers or in a group of gamblers. He will see that his comrades are going for a walk on Sunday morning, there is fun, and he is taken to the temple, where he needs to pray and repent. Therefore, within the framework of a children's Sunday school, events can also be performed that would be playful in form, but educate and shape the religious worldview in content.
The upbringing and education of children is a global problem. In our country, everything is subject to fashion trends. It is now fashionable to get married - and people do it. But this sacrament is not as common as registration at the registry office. It is necessary that a person can turn to God at any time, so that in every institution there is a place where one can pray, so that a person is surrounded by people who share his faith. After all, we are not protected from the fact that a child brought up in Orthodox traditions in society will not face a struggle with these traditions.

- In our state, there are no prospects for improving the situation yet. What can be done under these conditions, how to avoid "surges" of departure from faith?

- A family goes to church, she turns to some priest for advice and spiritual guidance. This priest must be literate and, at a modern level, must be able to understand all family members, and the child, in particular, his age characteristics.

- If one of the family members has a non-chemical addiction - where can relatives go?

- Relatives should be attentive, and first aid should come primarily from loved ones. Parents are obliged to understand what the child lacks, why he thus fills the spiritual emptiness. Visiting the temple, faith in the Lord significantly speeds up the process of recovery not only from non-chemical addictions, but also from other psychological disorders. For example, in our clinic there is a certain setting - the patient is strongly recommended to visit the temple, which is located on the territory of our center, to take part in the sacraments, to discuss his problem with the priest.
Rarely, but it happens that people are born with a predisposition to non-chemical addiction - the slightest provocation is enough, and a person is completely drawn into this. But I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is very difficult to recover from non-chemical addiction, it is better not to acquire it.

Interviewed by Anastasia Patricha

Donbass OrthodoxPress service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

In July, the oldest monastery in Yekaterinburg celebrates its 200th anniversary

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Visiting the editorial office of Komsomolskaya Pravda-Ural, the priest of the female Novo-Tikhvin monastery, Father Mikhail (Archpriest Mikhail Kudrin). In a black robe up to his feet in hot weather, the priest invariably causes surprise: how is it not hot for him? Yes, he is hot, like everyone else. Father Mikhail is a very cordial and cheerful person. People who come across him react differently. Some stay away, some come up for a blessing. Father Mikhail sits down at the table. He does not touch the liver, takes only the offered water. A few minutes remain before the start of the straight line.

- Father Mikhail, you don’t take cookies because it’s in cream, but now there is Peter’s post?

I, of course, cannot break the fast. Although, in general, Peter's fast is not as strict as, for example, the Great. Fish is often allowed. Of course, all Orthodox Christians now abstain from meat and dairy. But if someone in a cafeteria or cafe comes across a small piece of meat in the soup, it will look strange if he begins to catch it and put it aside. It is better to immediately choose lean dishes, but if a person accidentally eats a little non-fast, then he will be forgiven.

Elena: Hello, father. We were with my husband in the Novo-Tikhvin monastery and we liked it very much. We want to get married here.

Nowadays, weddings are not taking place. The Peter post will end on July 12, then it will be possible. Only in the monastery itself, weddings are not performed. There is our chapel nearby, in the dendrological park, you can get married there, it will be very good for you. There are certain days for this - Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And you can agree on a wedding in the monastery, in the Green Grove.

Paul: How many times should you confess?

The best thing is at least once a week. To do this, you need to prepare, fast and, for convenience, write down all your sins on a piece of paper. Sometimes they come and say: we have no sins. But this simply cannot be. Even the saints confessed with tears in their eyes, they saw their sins. Of course, now there is a long queue to the priest for confession, especially during Lent, but you have to wait, pray at this time, get ready. Indeed, there are not enough priests now. The revolution and the Bolsheviks kicked them out. And then the Soviet power also limited the Church ... But still now there is an opportunity for spiritual life - do not miss this, come to confession!

- There is an opinion that Yekaterinburg is still not forgiven for this crime - the murder of the royal family.

I cannot judge. Although many townspeople understand what their fault is. The point is not that specific modern people were not on that fateful night of July 17 with revolvers or bayonets in the basement of the Ipatiev house. The point is our attitude towards that time. We endure next to us the monuments and street names given to them in honor of murderers, terrorists, rapists. Yekaterinburg only recently changed its name, given to it in honor of the regicide and state terrorist. And the monument to Kirov? Should his moral qualities set an example for the students of USTU-UPI (UrFU), who pass him by every day?

Elena: Good afternoon, father Mikhail. I am going to make a pilgrimage to the Golden Ring on vacation. What do you recommend? It is somehow difficult to get to the holy places on foot, but it is somehow ugly by plane ... To fly to the holy relics on the wings.

I would advise you to look into the diocesan pilgrimage department on Repin, 6 "A". They will give detailed information on how, what and where. I once traveled with my family - the children were then 12 and 13 years old on a pilgrimage trip. We were in Diveevo, in Murom, then went to Moscow. I don't have a car, I don't have a driver's license, so we got there by bus. Bogolyubovo - there is a Church of the Intercession on the Nerl nearby. It is very important to go there. Around it is a field - a nature reserve, next to a holy lake. When the Tatars came to plunder, someone threw a Eucharistic cup into this lake. And it became holy. You can't get there by car. Even foreigners are dropped off and they walk 2 kilometers.

- Father Michael, you are talking about the holy places that Orthodox Christians strive for in order to receive healing, help for themselves or loved ones. Do we have shrines in Yekaterinburg? Are there holy people, holy elders? In the same Novo-Tikhvin monastery?

Of course, there are shrines. A particularly revered shrine is in the monastery - a particle of relics and an icon of St. Nicholas. Nicholas the Wonderworker is one of the most revered and beloved among the people. You can pray with an akathist to this great saint of God. Every Wednesday and Thursday at 18.00, prayers are performed in front of the relics, which are taken out at this time in the middle of the church. How to determine that a person living next to you and in our time is holy? By his actions, by his non-covetousness, by his meekness and love for God and neighbor. His face is said to just glow. And this is more from spiritual experience. For me, for example, such an indisputable spiritual authority is Schema-Archimandrite Abraham (Reidman), the confessor of the Novo-Tikhvin Monastery and the Svyato-Kosminskaya Male Hermitage (the village of Kostyleva, Verkhotursky District). In general, I would advise looking not for holy elders, but for experienced confessors - again, I can say that in our monastery very many priests already have extensive experience, spiritual practice, and in other churches as well.

- In one of the reference books it is indicated that the main icon of the monastery - Tikhvin one - has the glory of miraculous, and that touching it guarantees healing from many infirmities ... But meanwhile, it is known that this icon is "just" a modern copy from an old original ... Well , that is, not very ancient. As if it is believed that the older, the more miraculous ...

This is not necessary at all. There are many examples when new "young" icons rendered help, and even photographs from icons of holy ascetics. In our monastery we have a list made by the sisters 3-4 years ago. An absolutely exact copy of the one that was once located in Tikhvin. The ancient "original" was taken out of the USSR during the Soviet years and kept for a long time in the USA, in Chicago. And so, the curator in the USA gave the “original” of the icon to Tikhvin, and our sisters made a list from it and attached it to it, that is, to this very miraculous icon. Vladyka Vincent performed the necessary ceremony, and the icon was solemnly delivered to Yekaterinburg. From the airport - by cross procession to the monastery. People here pray, receive help from this icon, but they are not always in a hurry to announce it loudly.

- Natalia: A friend asks to become the godmother of her daughter, and I myself am not baptized ...

The godmother has many responsibilities in relation to her spiritual “child”. She should bring him to church, teach him a virtuous life. If you really want to become a godmother, you need to be baptized yourself, and before that, go to talks for three months, for example, to our Green Grove (for the convenience of the workers, they are held in the evenings). Consciously approach baptism, and it will be the greatest and most joyful discovery of your life.

- Father Michael, how do you become monks, nuns? There is an opinion that it is mainly losers who do not work out in life, unhappy love, a broken business, a family ...

In no case. Losers don't go to monks (or nuns). Losers are desperate people, and despair is sin. Rather, there are those who acutely feel the need for spiritual improvement and understand that it is difficult to achieve this in the world ... I will say more - if a person simply runs from failure, he most likely will not hold out in the monastery, because we carry all the roots of our conflicts with us ...

- You don't make a special selection? Let's say you don't have enough seamstresses or artists, and first of all you take those who know how to embroider or stitch on a typewriter ...

This is not a university where they are ready to hire an outstanding athlete, albeit with a small intellect, just for the institute to "sound". Or the army, where they immediately select a good car mechanic so that he does not serve, but repairs cars to his generals. Being a monk, a nun is hard work. Not physical, but spiritual work on oneself. And not everyone can do it. And most likely, a nun who knows how to sew well, will be given obedience, just not connected with her worldly profession. In order for her not to be distracted and not proud of the fruits of her labor, she did not ascend in pride over the sisters, but humbly worked in the field where she was put - for the glory of God. That in which the worldly see honor and glory, monks only harm.

- Julia: I want to remember my grandfather, he has not been with us for two years, but I do not know whether he is baptized or not ...

What year of birth is he?

- In my opinion, since 1923 or 24 ...

When he was in adulthood, at that time the citizens of the USSR no longer had any reason to strongly hide their involvement in Orthodoxy and refuse the rite of baptism. It means that your grandfather was baptized with a high degree of probability. In cases where there is doubt, it is better to decide in favor of the person being baptized. Remember him as he was baptized and give memorial notes to the church.

- Nikolay: My wife began to say more and more often that she was going to go to a monastery.

Do you have children?

- Not. I do not know what to do, I would be very sorry if she still went there. She says that one cannot be saved in the world, but that one can only do it in a monastery.

This is not true…. Are you married?

- Well, in general, you can say ...

If you are married, then she cannot just go and go to the monastery. She must ask your permission, Nikolai. If you refuse her, and she has no other serious reasons, she simply cannot be in the monastery. But let's say you agreed to let her go. She still has to consult a lot with her confessor, talk to the older sisters at the monastery. I am sure she will be advised not to destroy her family, but to humbly carry her “home” cross. And if she nevertheless decides to leave, then at least another three years (!) Will pass a "trial period". To work, to pray, to do the assigned work - she will have obedience. During this time, a person begins to understand whether or not he is ready to devote his whole life to serving God. Vladyka Vincent says that this "probationary period" should actually be increased to five years. Although this is individual.

Now, as for where your wife, Nikolai, is better off "to save herself." The spiritual father of our monastery, Schema-Archimandrite Abraham, says that both family and monastic life are very difficult. If you live according to the commandments of God and fulfill all the precepts regarding family life, then it will be a real cross-bearing. As an Orthodox family, as a rule, there are many children. And it takes a long time to properly educate them. Man gives all of himself to his children. This can become your cross and salvation. Well, if you don't have children yet ... To have children, you can ask the righteous Simeon of Verkhotursky. There is a church on Elizabeth, there is an icon, its relics, come together. Simeon will help.

- Several years ago, a resident of Chicago, a former Russian woman, Anna, ordered an icon of the Mother of God to the sisters. In general, how often do sisters receive orders for family icons?

Ik aboutwe have been writing to order in the monastery for 10 years. The first dispersed among the parishioners and pilgrims. And when the site of the monastery sestry.ru opened, orders began to come from abroad - from America, the Czech Republic, Greece. But mostly we write, of course, to churches and monasteries. And we not only write, but also embroider. Quite recently, your "Komsomolskaya Pravda" wrote about an embroidered icon of the Monk Gerasim of Boldinsky in full growth, which the sisters made by order of the Holy Trinity Boldinsky Monastery. And the icon painters just recently finished another interesting icon - St. Theodosius of Totem ...

- Something I have never heard of him before. And what does he have to do with the monastery?

Himself aboute straight. Theodosius Totemsky helps the builders. Several monasteries were rebuilt under his leadership. And he is the “heavenly builder” of the Novo-Tikhvin monastery. There was such a case in 1879, when the monastery was not yet officially established, only a small community was formed, headed by Tatyana Kostromina, the future abbess Taisia. When the first cell building was laid, a rider on a white horse suddenly appeared in front of the builders who were performing the prayer service. Said, "Receive this builder." He held the image of the Monk Theodosius and a certain plan, most likely the plan of a monastery. So it turned out that our monastery was built not according to human will, but according to God.

- Love: I go to church, but it is somehow inconvenient to approach the priest for a blessing. I don't know when this can be done, tell me, Father Mikhail.

At any time, anywhere, you can approach for a blessing if the priest is not currently serving. After all, when I was a layman, I was also very shy: how can you just go to a priest like that? I was even afraid. And there is no need to be afraid. If you are going to fly to Egypt - come for a blessing. Gathered to take the exam - bless. Any business, any undertaking. In the end, you understand that you are not going to the priest personally, but approaching him in order to receive God's blessing. And when he blesses, he folds his fingers so that the initial letters of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ are obtained.

- Victoria: Father Mikhail, my son was born on July 19. We named him Alexander. I would like to know when can I celebrate his name day?

Alexander, this is a name consisting of two Greek words: alex - protector, andros - man, husband. Alexandra are very rich on name days. You need to go to any church shop, look at the church calendar there and decide in honor of which saint it is named - accordingly, on the day of memory of this saint, his name day will be. If you choose a saint by date, then the closest is the Monk Alexander of Kushtsky, his memory is celebrated on July 22. And it is important to celebrate the name day worthy of the memory of your saint - that is, go to the temple, pray to him for your health and salvation. He will definitely help you.

- Which celebrity will come to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Novo-Tikhvin Monastery?

Are you expecting us to invite famous rock musicians or pop stars? (laughs) The celebrations will be big and joyful, on the 8th evening there will be an All-night vigil in the summer church right in the open area, regardless of the weather. His Eminence Archbishop Vincent and many priesthood will serve. And on July 9, the Bishop's Divine Liturgy will also be held in the summer church. Then a concert, there will be our quartet "Ural", everyone loves to listen to them. From the "celebrities" will be the people's singer of Russia Tatyana Petrova with the program "My Quiet Motherland". Tatyana Yurievna is from the Urals (from Bulanash), now she lives and works in Moscow, but her sisters invited her and she will come. Her voice is incomparable, it is worth hearing. What else? Pupils of our monastery shelter will perform popular Italian songs. It is very beautiful and touching. (Kp.ru publishes the anniversary program on the website).

- Galina: Good afternoon, father! Is it possible for an elderly woman in the service to be not wearing a headscarf, but a hat? What do you think about it? Thank.

Yes, Galina, in principle, you can be wearing a hat. Nowadays you can often see women in berets and hats in the temple. The main thing is to be covered with your head. My attitude? It seems to me that the headscarf gives some special chastity to the appearance of any woman, it symbolizes humility and meekness.

- Katya, 19 years old: Why do we need a religious procession? And can a simple passer-by, who walked by and decided to join, take part in it?

It developed in antiquity. The procession is of great importance. It occurs on great holidays, or when a great calamity awaits a country or city and people want to prevent it. The procession has great power. Everyone walks, prays, sings, sprinkles everything with holy water. A simple layman can also join him. For example, you can come to the Religious Procession on July 9, to the celebration of Tikhvin. We completely bypass the entire territory of the monastery, including the territory of the current military hospital. The military leadership always allows us to do this. Wounded soldiers, nurses, all service personnel leave. Baptized into the icon. Come and you, Catherine.

- Svetlana: Hello, I have a question. My daughter is 4 months old, we want to baptize her, what needs to be done for this? And what do you need to carry with you during baptism?

It is very good, Svetlana, that you wish to baptize your daughter. First of all, you definitely need to find a godmother for her - a baptized Orthodox woman. Now, before Baptism, it is customary to have catechumens - this is done so that a person is baptized or baptized his children consciously. At our monastery, special courses have been created for full disclosure, which last 3 months. In other temples, the number of conversations may be different, but usually no less than four. The godmother should definitely go through such conversations, but of course, they are very important for you too. During the conversations, they talk in detail about how the Sacrament of Baptism is performed, and there they will tell you what may be needed for Baptism. Baptism is free of charge. If you take catechism courses at our monastery, then you will have the opportunity to baptize your daughter in the village of Merkushino. This is a holy place, once the righteous Simeon of Verkhotursky lived there.

-Nikolay: Father, good evening! Please tell me, when you go to church and see those asking at the gate, is it necessary to give them money? The fact is that it is clear from them that this money will not go to a good cause, but to alcohol. Will it be considered a sin if you do not give money to those who ask the church?

Hello Nikolay! If you have a suspicion that your alms will be used for sin, then it is better not to give it, at least not to give money. You can donate food.

- Maria: Good afternoon! I have serious university entrance exams. I'm getting ready, but I would like to ask the saint for help. What saint should I pray, what prayers should I read?

Dear Maria, I wish you God's help! The patrons of the students are considered the Great Martyr Tatiana and St. John Chrysostom. In our monastery, in the Church of All Saints in the Green Grove, there is a particle of the relics of St. John, you can come, write a request to serve him a prayer for God's help in a good deed, and of course, pray at the prayer service herself. In general, try to visit church more often, to pray from your heart - and there will be God's help.

- Vladimir: Hello, Fr. Michael! Does it make any difference which cross to wear - small or large, made of ordinary metal or gold? Can an unconsecrated cross be worn?

Vladimir, good afternoon! It makes no difference which cross to wear, in any case it keeps a person. Gold or silver cross, large or small - this is left to the discretion of the believer, to his taste. But it is absolutely necessary to consecrate the cross. You can just bring it to the temple, ask any priest, he will consecrate. It will take very little time.