You are going the wrong way, comrades! Belief in a bright future brought the residents of Donetsk region to neurosis. Holy Ascension Monastery

4.09.08

What motivates a person who spends all their 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 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-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, also includes the concept of spirituality, faith in God. When harmony is disturbed, 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 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 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 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 performed 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 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

Change text size: A A

Visiting the editorial office of Komsomolskaya Pravda-Ural, the priest of the Novo-Tikhvinsky convent, 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, it is hot for him, 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 tolerate 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's somehow difficult to get to the holy places on foot, but it's 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 the 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 themselves or those close to them. 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 handed over 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, for three months go to conversations, for example, to our Zelena Roscha (for the convenience of 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 are keenly aware of 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 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?

- No. 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 with 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 Verkhoturye. 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 the sisters an icon of the Mother of God. 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's somehow inconvenient to go to 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 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 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, to go to church, 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 unmatched, 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 you.

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 goes, praying, singing, sprinkling 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. They are 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 suspect 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.

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, injuries also lead 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 the treatment from a psychotherapist, will call the 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 declaration 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 the upbringing of their children. “The main problems, if we take young children, are neurotic disorders - stuttering, bedwetting, 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 a crisis management room: 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 gets to us in the last turn, 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 shorthand 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 their 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 harmony is disturbed, 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 the 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 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 adolescent psyche 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 upbringing, the absence of traditions has such disastrous consequences.

- 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.

Mikhail Bero, Doctor of Medical Sciences

Interviewed by Anastasia Patricha

www. ortodox. donbass. com

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 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 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 the sake of pleasure, while in non-chemical addiction, 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, 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 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 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 adolescent psyche 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 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 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 are going for a walk on Sunday morning, there is fun, and he is taken to the temple, where you need 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 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.

- 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 a 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 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